I may not have posted this yesterday like I promised, but I’m sure the majority of you knew I would have this up eventually, yes? I hope so! Anyways, we’ve got another fine week of releases, including the latest from MF Doom (or just DOOM now), Röyksopp, The Decemberists, Harlem Shakes, and MSTRKRFT.
Also, not to be left out are the latest from some side projects including Swan Lake’s (Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, and Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes) Enemy Mine and Fever Ray’s (The Knife’s Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson) self-titled album.
Last month the announcement had been made concerning the Norwegian duo Röyksopp and the release of forthcoming record titled Junior. Well, we also had a chance to listen to a track from the new album called “Happy Up Here,” which happened to be one of the catchiest songs I had yet to hear so far to kick off 2009.
The video for the single recently premiered and featured a very iconic image (well, if you play video games that is): The pixelated aliens from Space Invaders! Reason enough to post just for that, but the video is actually quite good as well. Maybe Phoenix’s video for “1901″ will feature Pac-man or Galaga in retaliation.
It’s been three years since the Norwegian duo Röyksopp released their last record, The Understanding. Considering the time between that and Melody A.M, it’s clear that these guys like to take their precious time in between recording. Luckily for us, a new album entitled Junior, is set to be released on March 23.
Though, i’m curious how well received this one will be, as The Understanding took a different approach, in that it actually wanted to be a proper pop album, and wasn’t as universally loved as their million-selling debut. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to that last record, but there were quite a few bright spots including “What Else Is There?” which featured the stunning vocals of the Knife’s Karin Dreijer. Maybe lightning will strike twice, as Dreijer will once again make an appearance along with fellow Swedes Robyn and Lykke Li.
The first single titled “Happy Up There,” has been streaming on Pitchfork for a few days now. I’ve replayed this thing an unhealthy number of times, as it’s just good to be listening to an upbeat dance/pop track right now. It contains the signature synths you would expect from the duo, and that breezy vocal (“You know I really like it/ I know I’ll always be here”) throughout the track is just too catchy for its own good.
Now how about those other Norwegians, Kings of Convenience? Hope to hear something from them soon. Aren’t they also releasing a new record this year?
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