Amazon.co.uk: Robin Carlsson--better known as Robyn, the diminutive Swedish fireball who scored a hit with 1997's "Show Me Love"--has slowly but surely made her mark as an international R & B queen. Robyn, her fourth album, is arguably her strongest statement to date, jam-packed with sassy, streetwise lyrics and an array of novel beats and songs. Tracks like "Be Mine" and the playful, upbeat "Konichiwa Bitches" are instant, immaculate pop gems, while "With Every Heartbeat"--which boasts a Royksopp-esque melancholy, sidereal bleeps and rousing strings--is much more dance than R & B. "Who's That Girl" (produced by The Knife) rides an infectious electroclash groove; "Crash and Burn Girl" is a cheerful take on disco; while "Bum Like Me" and "Should Have Known" (which owes a conspicuous debt to Prince) are shiny slower jams that warn against getting hurt by time-wasting men. With the exception of "Eclipse" and "Anytime You Like", Robyn is a delightfully upbeat album, cementing Robyn's reputation as a kick-ass pop diva with some seriously deadly Ninja moves. --Danny McKenna
Album Description: 2007 UK pressing of the Swedish diva's self-titled album. Although she has been recording for more than a decade, her musical reinvention at the turn of the millennium has increased her profile worldwide. The critically acclaimed album features 15 tracks including the singles 'Konichiwa Bitches' and `With Every Heartbeat'. Island.
Album Details: 2007 Repackaged UK Issue of the with Fifth Album from the Swedish Blued-eyed Pop/R&b Sensation who Has Rocked her Homeland and Topped their Pop Charts. This Edition Sports Different Artwork and Includes the Singles "With Every Heartbeat" and "Konichiwa Bitches" plus a Track Not on the Swedish Version, "Cobrastyle".
Robyn's album is excellent better than the rest Robyn goes the extra mile on every track on this album. She is a strong vocalist, catchy tunes. Robyn's album is much better than Madonna's latest, and I like Madonna, but Robyn is a much stronger vocalist, has way more original style. Every track is excellent, I especially like Cobra Style which she performed on that stupid show The View. I think the track Be Mine is my favorite, strong vocalst, great production, raw emotion, a story is told in this song everyone can relate to. Robyn is the real deal, she leaves weak no talents like Janet Jackson or Ashlee Simpson in the dust. She is making records to make music, she is not some record compay puppet with no vision or talent, like a Janet Jackson.
The best of 2008 I really loved Madonna's latest, but Robyn's self-titled album has blown Hard Candy out of the water! From beginning the end the album is full of sweet, savage Europop/R&B goodness. This album is a smarter, cheekier and better-written version of anything Gwen Stefani, Nelly Furtado and Fergie have put out in the past four years. Please pick this up if you're looking for a new artist to sweeten your musical palate.
Such a great cd! Robyn's cd is pure talent. She has that extra something that most pop stars dont have these days. Theres not a single song I dont like on this album. Its the perfect dance album and full of female independance.
How many times can we release this album? Keep 'em coming! How do you go about reviewing one of the best pop albums of the last decade? We could start with history, I suppose. Robyn was born Robin Miriam Carlsson in Sweden in 1979, making her just shy of 30 years old. She was discovered by Swedish pop star Meja (It's All About The Money) in 1991, and in 1994 released her American breakthrough album, Robyn Is Here. This album spun out some great and memorable pop songs like, "Do You Know (What It Takes)," "Show Me Love" (which is often confused with another song sharing the name, by Robin S.), and "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" which, while good, did not do as well as the first two. She reverted back to releasing albums in Europe with My Truth and Don't Stop The Music. Both are pop gems, but not nearly as impressive as what comes next.
In 2005, Robyn's self titled album dropped in Sweden. Imports would reach record stores like Tower Records with a hefty price tag, and for a while, iTunes made it available for purchase. Near the end of 2006, the album was removed from iTunes, making acquiring it very difficult. It all became clear, though, as 2007 heralded the reissue of the album, preceded by The Rakamonie EP, and the CD single for "Konichiwa Bitches." Robyn was finding a lot of success in Europe with her quirky videos and jagged yet wrenching pop tunes. It wouldn't be until her collaboration with producer Kleerup, "With Every Heartbeat," that heads started to turn her way with more than just casual interest. "With Every Heartbeat," a track originally not found on the 2005 release of Robyn, is an immensely powerful yet masterfully simplistic tune about the pain following loss, and with Kleerup at the panels, pop is aligned with trance elements to great effect. While the music video lacked any sort of cohesion with the message in the song, it was visually stimulating enough to grab people and make them listen. European singles of "Handle Me," "Be Mine," and "Who's That Girl" would follow before April 2008.
So three years after its initial release, where is Robyn's self titled album now? Simple, just go to any store that sells CDs and you'll find it. But why would you buy it?
The album starts with a rather bitchy spoken track where Robyn lives the life of a superstar at Konichiwa Records Headquarters, dealing with incompetent people who bring food into her jacuzzi and she makes demanding phone calls for "hell's bells." An ominous voice emerges, touting Robyn as unleashed and best dressed, the queen B, featherweight champion, super foxiest female ever. It really is a hilarious little bragging track, as most of it is completely false. And hilarity continues into "Konichiwa Bitches," perhaps the most brilliant song of her career. Robyn takes to rapping over a simple, ruthlessly catchy beat, spouting lines like "I'm so very hot that when I rob your mansion/You ain't call the cops you call the fire station," and "right now you're probably thinkin' 'how she get in them jeans'/Well I'm gifted all natural and I'm burstin' the scenes." Ridiculous and weird, yet flawless in every way. "Cobrastyle" follows, a cover of the Teddybears, which she handles with ease. The track is originally a big party tune, and Robyn simplifies and smooths things out by replacing guitars and drums with synths and beats. "Handle Me," a track where Robyn acknowledges all the accomplishments of an available man and how he can't handle her, is gorgeous in the dichotomy of the sounds presented. The beats are hard like diamond, unrelenting, while the violins and guitars, not to mention Robyn's voice, lilt alongside them, like grass growing up through cracks in a sidewalk.
And that is how the album progresses. "Be Mine," "Who's That Girl," and "Crash And Burn Girl" are the other up-tempo highlights. In "Be Mine," Robyn tackles the hardships of wanting someone she can never have, while in "Who's That Girl" she expresses that she will never be like the girls a man might want her to be. "Crash And Burn Girl" is another bitch track, and with a lyric like, "While we're on the subject tell me why your name's in the dictionary when I look up idiot?," you can see just how this one goes. Every track is worth your time, believe me, but this review would go on forever if I talked about each track.
I will finish by talking about the two bonus tracks, "Dream On" and the RedOne remix of "Handle Me." "Dream On" is actually a Christian Falk song off his sophomore album, People Say. It features both Robyn and Ola Salo, the singer of the band The Ark. For her US reissue, Robyn has upped the synths and dropped a lot of Salo's vocal influence in the track. Still amazing though, and one of the best tracks on the album. RedOne you may or may not know. He produced the surprisingly good track "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. His influence, thankfully, is the same here. "Handle Me" takes on more of an electro/hip-hop vibe with RedOne, and the way he crunches her vocals around for this mix is impressive. Definitely worth checking out.
Summary: This album is, year after year, one of the best releases of the year. You cannot miss this. 6 out of 5 stars
This Robyn sings Dance Pop Sweetly. I remember a very R&B Robyn. Her voice oozed smoothly with beats that rocked and swayed you. Now, the tempo is fast pace, venturing onto electro-pop territory. This grown up Robyn holds nothing back as she sings about heart ache and love with electronic beats that make you dance.
This album is a must have. The international hit that was "Every Heartbeat" is only one of many gems in this treasure chest of an LP album. After a couple of listens, I honestly can't say what track shouldn't be there. They all shine and Robyn brings a life to the lyrics that truly makes you feel it in your chest as it works its way down to your feet.
Other favorites includes :Cobrastyle, Be Mine, Handle Me, Every Heartbeat (Must buy), Eclipse, Should Have Known, and Anytime you like.
Take a listen to this Robyn. You will not be disappointed.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
