Review: Robyn - "Body Talk" (Part 1 and 2)

Longtime readers of my blog may recall that I was obsessed with Robyn's triumphant return to the international pop scene in 2007 and 2008. While America didn't get on board with the "Show Me Love" singer's off-kilter millennium pop, the rest of the world was grooving to her collaboration with Kleerup and hijacking of Dave Chappelle lines.

Girlfriend is back, with a three album cycle called Body Talk. Part 1 released earlier this year and I dropped the ball with coverage. The 7 song disc (iTunes tacks on two bonus tracks) is fantastic. Some songs are a little schticky - "Dancehall Queen" is a reggae-via-No-Doubt jam, "Don't F******g Tell Me What To Do" is a monotone wonder and "None of Dem" hooks Robyn up with previous collaborator Royksopp for a M.I.A.-style world-meets-techno thing. The girl has a thing for robots, following up Robyn's "Robotboy" and Junior's "The Girl And The Robot" with Body Talk's "Fembot." It's an obsession I can get behind if the tunes stay this good. The real star is lead single, "Dancing On My Own" which finds Robyn returning to the heart-wrenching "sad gay disco songs" template of "Be Mine!" and "With Every Heartbeat." She has a wheelhouse she can embrace. The album closes with an acoustic version of "Hang With Me" - which shows up again on Part 2 in it's pop version.


Body Talk Part 2 is a little more focused. Euro-pop curls up with hip-hop and dance, with lots of 80s influences. The first four songs create a mini-album of dancefloor fillers with heart and soul like "Hang With Me." Meanwhile, "We Dance To The Beat" is the kind of crazy that fans of Bjork and M.I.A. can appreciate. And Snoop Dogg returns the favor after Robyn spiced up a remix of "Sexual Eruption" by trading "Curriculum Vitae"-style brags on "U Should Know Better." It's equal parts awesome and ridiculous - from Robyn claiming to tell the Vatican what's up on race, sexism and celibacy in one line, to mispronouncing French words on purpose. The closing track is an acoustic version of a gorgeous song called "Indestructible" that I have no doubt will be a show stopper on Part 3.