the understanding

royksopp

astralwerks, 2005

Mood—Intense, grandiose, pumped.

Sample: "Only This Moment"

Thoughts— This is definitely the best Royksopp album so far. Both the first and the third are also excellent, but their second outing, The Understanding works on every level.

It did come as a bit of a surprise, though, as the cool, calm mood of their first album is not to be found here. This one is inherently more dancey than Melody A.M., with a wider range of vocal styles and instrument choices. "49 Percent" was almost too different for me at first, but quickly became favorites.

This album, more than anything, sounds as if it was very fun to make. There are moments of edgy darkness but they are overwhelmingly blotted out by a sense of joy and positivity.

I don't normally feel this way, in fact usually it is quite the opposite, but my least favorite tracks on The Understanding are the instrumental ones. They are the minority here, but they feel different than the rest o the album, rather than extensions of the vocal tracks. They're still good, mind you.

If I'm going to single out a few tracks from an entire album of goodness, I'd have to pick "Only This Moment" and "Someone LIke Me" as great songs to share with others.

Recommended? Absolutely buy this.

Link—royksopp.com

Tracklist
1. Triumphant
2. Only This Moment
3. 49 Percent
4. Boys
5. Follow My Ruin
6. Beautiful Day Without You
7. What Else Is There
8. Circuit Breaker
9. Alpha Male
10. Someone Like Me
11. Dead To The World