Melody AM - Royksopp

Melody AM

Royksopp
Astralwerks Records.

SCQ Rating: 74%

There are certain go-to artists or go-to bands that, upon mention, represent entire genres of music. Led Zeppelin are ambassadors to classic rock, Oasis are curators to 90s Brit-rock, etc. Electronica is no different, and even those who scoff at the genre could no doubt name The Chemical Brothers or Fatboy Slim as able (if misleading) representatives. Few would likely toss around the name Royksopp, despite the fact that they’ve heard the Nordic duo a thousand times.

Melody AM was unveiled in 2002, ushered by a ton of fanboy world-of-mouth, and through the following year, hit critic’s lists and commercial success. I’ve heard ‘Eple’s bouncy rhythms and tweaked effects soundtracking several movies and, once, a stranger’s ringtone. The lite house of ‘Remind Me’ will certainly bring the memory of a certain car insurance commercial flooding back, and the chill-out of ‘Sparks’ likely highlighted a Starbucks conversation or two. I mention all this crossover success to imply its allure, that Melody AM is one of the best electronic LPs to play before a diverse crowd of dance-appreciators. This widespread love is due to Royksopp’s clever shifts, occupying big-beat anthems in ‘So Easy’, house-infused dance in ‘Poor Leno’, or spacey downtempo as mastered in ‘A Higher Place’.

Royksopp have yet to go all Moby on us, but the success they’ve achieved has been courtesy of real electronica (no filtered down, Gwen Stefani-guestspots so far). Since this genre harbours so many secret talents, I can’t say that Royksopp are among the electronic elite, nor that this is a record I constantly revisit. Even so, the press speaks for itself; if you are at all curious about accessible electronica, Melody AM is certainly your go-to album.