When an artist chooses to break away from the record industry’s norms, it’s always a risk for them. There are times when this risk can pay off, such as the case of Radiohead‘s highly publicized “pay what you will” policy. And then there are other occasions when this all crashes and burns, leading to a heaping mass of immense failure.
The fate of Robyn‘s Body Talk series can’t quite be discerned at this point in time, but things are at least sounding good for the Swedish pop star. The project will be released as a trilogy of mini-albums, with the first due in the US on June 15. Of course, that’s not taking into account that ninety percent of her audience will have heard it before then.
Nearly a month (or more) before its release date, Body Talk Pt. 1 had already hit the net. For a collection of songs thrown together because they were “simply the first ones finished”, it plays surprisingly well from start to finish. Her indie dance demographic will eat this up in a heartbeat, though the repetition of “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do” and the language barrier of “Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa” may not mesh well with some fans.
While it’s quite implausible that Robyn will ever have a US hit as big as “Do You Know (What It Takes)” or “Show Me Love”, there’s a chance that she’ll at least pick up a few new fans with this upcoming mini-album. Let’s just hope they actually buy her album…
– Dewitt
To listen to select songs from this album, follow the JUMP:
I like half the album. “Fembot” is by far the best song on the album. “Cry When You Get Older” “None of Dem” and “Dancing on My Own” are also good tracks. “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do” was good for a couple listens but got old quickly, and with a title like that I was expecting a lot more. People seem to like “Dancehall Queen” but I can’t stand that song. “Hang With Me (Acoustic)” doesn’t sound right to me, maybe there will be a non-acoustic version which I think will be better. And finally, “Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa” is not bad to me because of a language barrier, but because it is extremely boring.
I loved Robyn’s last album and I’m expecting a lot more from the next two installments of Body Talk.