Home > Music > CD Review > Robyn, 'Robyn'

Robyn, 'Robyn'

Swedish pop diva finally makes her grown-up return to the U.S.

By Andy Gillette

Special to Metromix
April 28, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: Discovered at the tender age of 13, Robyn achieved pop success in the U.S. and around the world in the '90s. After “Show Me Love” shot her to near superstardom in '97, she had a series of business-side disappointments and went back to her native Sweden to regroup. Legend has it that she was so inspired by fellow Swedes the Knife that she bought herself out of her contract and started her own label, Konichiwa Records. Then she brought in Klas Ahlund from Teddybears and set about making the banging-est pop music possible. Finally, almost three years after its initial release, her self-titled comeback album arrives in the U.S.

Why you should care: If we ignore (and we probably should) the two-minute spoken-word intro, lead track “Konichiwa Bitches” hits with wet, moog-ish synth and thumping bass and the album pretty much never lets up. “Who's That Girl,” produced by the Knife, has been floating around the blogosphere for a while now and is one of the most forward-looking pieces of pop music made in recent memory. But it's “Crash And Burn Girl” that really shines, waxing almost disco with orchestral stabs, a funky bass line, and a soulful quality to Robyn’s voice that seldom comes out on the rest of the album.

Verdict: Robyn's pseudo-thug, occasionally profane lyrics hearken back to the earlier days of electroclash (Peaches, Avenue D), but her voice is probably best described as adorable. Her singing talent is certainly there, but it's really beside the point. You can't expect to be amazed by an album like this. It is, at the end of the day, just pop music, but it's extremely catchy and will certainly be a dance floor staple for a while.

X-Factor: Robyn was discovered by Swedish pop star Meja at a musical workshop at her middle school, and recorded her first songs with Swedish producer/songwriter Max Martin—who took what he learned from his work with Robyn and went on to produce many of Britney Spears’ early hits.