Robyn live @ Ancienne Belgique (10/03)

Robin Miriam Carlsson, perhaps better known as just Robyn, has steadily earned herself a place at the top of the pop firmament over the past seventeen (17!) years. Last year she released the amazing Body Talk series, including two mini-albums and a compilation. And last Thursday she performed in the Ancienne Belgique, proving once again that she is one of the top performers in the business.

She definately didn't miss her entrance. Four men in white entered the stage and manned their intruments (synth, drum, drum, synth) while a voice started introducing Konichiwa headquarters' 'pint-sized atombomb'  (a reference to the intro of her 2005 album Robyn). The lights started flashing , the keys started to build up and under an earsplitting haze of light and sound, Robyn jumped on stage, ready take the audience with her on an electropop roller coaster. Because if anything, she was determined to get everybody in motion. Dancefloor gems like 'Be Mine', 'Indestructible' and 'Fembot' were fired of at a furious pace, while Robyn flew across the stage, jumping and spinning around franticly. But, without ever sacrificing any of her vocal quality. Where Hurts threw a dozen roses into the crowd during their gig one week earlier, Robyn shared the peel of the banana she ate after that first round of adrenaline-pop. Not that there was much time to catch our breath.

By the time she pulled out 'Dancing On My Own' (suprisingly early), she had the whole crowd with her. It was only one of many memorable moments during the show, as Robyn disposes of a wide range of simply irresistible sing-and-dance-along pop songs, which effortlessly surpass the pop-uniformity we get jammed down our throates on a daily basis. There was not a dull moment during the whole set, and Robyn seemed unexhaustible the way she kept bursting with energy the whole time. And that energy inevitably reflected on the audience, which yelled along on indestructible tracks like 'Stars 4-Ever', 'Time Machine' and 'Love Kills'. Her Royksopp duet 'The Girl and the Robot' couldn't be left out of course and Snoop Dogg collaboration 'You Should Better' was saved for the end, in a refreshing, slowed-down version.

All of that left us wanting more, so Robyn returned for a first round of encores in which she played 'Hang With Me', the incredibly chilled 'Dancehall Queen' and her breakthrough hit 'With Every Heartbeat'. Subsequently she left the stage again and was yelled back on stage for another round. And for those who figured it was too late to dance, she pulled out an exhaulted version of 'Konichiwa Bitches' out of her hat. And with an accoustic 'Show Me Love' she concluded. With a staggering 90-minute performance Robyn established herself once again as one of the greatest pop stars of the decade. When your feet, your hands and your throat are soar afterwards, you know you've gotten your money's worth.

Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 2

Tagline: ‘You know when in Rome I sat down with the Romans / Said "We need a black pope and she better be a woman” (she better!)’

‘She is Robyn. The most killingest pop star on the planet. A pint-sized atom bomb dosed to the tits on electric and dispensing wisdom in three-minute modernist pop bulletins on the post-adolescent condition.’ It is what her site bio read in the days of ‘Robyn’, her self-titled fourth studio album, released in 2005. An album through which the Swedish singer stepped out of the teen pop box and showed that she had what it took. It shows a sense of humor and an undeniable cool, two qualities that characterize Robyn. So when Simon Amstell read the words to her during a 2008 episode of Nevermind The Buzzcocks she got away with it. That is because Robyn’s attitude is not just a pose, it is reflected in her music, which made a complete 180 with the release of ‘Robyn’ via her own label Konichiwa Records. Robyn is one of those rare pop artists who makes pop music – traditionally on the bottom of the critic’s ladder – interesting and edgy, proving that a pop album can make it to year end lists.

At the start of that same episode Amstell introduces her as ‘a chart topping pop phenomenon whose album is still nearly full price in many shops’. It’s a pretty good analysis of Robyn, undoubtedly one of today’s most exciting yet underrated pop stars. In 2005 she turned her back to the flavorless pop tunes that made her a star in native Sweden and even garnered attention in the United States by taking her sound in her own hands and leaving the mainstream behind – marked by a thrilling collaboration with her compatriots from The Knife (‘Who’s That Girl’). In 2010 she announced the release of no less than three albums. The Body Talk series ended up being one full album preceded by two mini-albums, but the effort is no less impressive, given the consistent quality and the fact that she produced some of the most ‘killingest’ pop songs of the year.

Body Talk Pt. 2 has to be my favorite, containing all the classic Robyn elements. The same irresistible satiric coolness from Robyn intro ‘Curriculum Vitae’ is displayed in ‘Criminal intent’, in which Robyn picks up her own defense in Court after being accused of . ‘I admit, I can get somewhat X-rated on the floor’, she takes off, ‘But your Honor, how's that something you get incarcerated for?’. Pop music doesn’t always have to be about something, but at least with Robyn it’s never about nothing. On Snoop Dogg collaboration ‘You Should Know better’, Robyn takes on every institutions and authority in the world in a dynamic, scorching electro-tirade, warning them all not to pick a fight with her. The Russians, the Vatican, even the CIA knows better than to fuck with Robyn.

True, Body Talk Pt. 2 is less versatile than its predecessor. On pt. 1 Robyn explores genres touching on dancehall (with Diplo) and club (with Röyksopp) whereas pt. 2 is a pretty straightforward electro pop album. But instead of becoming just another pop album, Robyn takes it to a whole new level with a near-perfect production, strong vocals and heartfelt lyrics. ‘It is really very simple, just a simple pulse repeated at a regular interval’,  she sings on ‘Include Me Out’, a song so energetic and upbeat you can’t help not singing and dancing along. The whole Body Talk series shares that optimistic feel, even in the vulnerable yet happy love songs, perhaps Robyn's biggest trademark. ‘Hang with me’, in acoustic version on part one, gets an electro pop coat on Pt. 2, with good result. And Body Talk pt. 2 concludes with a another acoustic song – ‘Indestructible’ – which features on Pt. 3 as an irresistible dance track, with a pop beat perfectly complimenting the song’s classical strings. Those

After more than 15 years in the business she has come to be an artist defining pop music. Nobody combines heart ache and attitude the way she does. She left the safe road to do her own thing and in doing so she’s shown that pop music can also push the envelope. For some reason she has not really found her way to the mainstream but one thing is for sure: the whole world should know better than to fuck with Robyn.

1. In My Eyes

2. Include Me Out

3. Hang With Me

4. Love Kills

5. We Dance To The Beat

6. Criminal Intent

7. U Should Know Better (ft. Snoop Dogg)

8. Indestructible (Acoustic Version)

Uffie - Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans

Tagline: ‘Oh you wear H&M, I’m Paul Smith, bitch.’

‘Why is this being hyped so much?’ Was my first reaction after hearing ‘Pop The Glock’ by French-American electro rap artist Uffie. To me it sounded like a poppy, but in no way exceptional track by yet another young female electropop starlet. There had to be something I was not hearing, I figured, in anticipation of her first full length studio album ‘Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans’. It turned out there wasn’t. Uffie may well be one of the worst mc’s around. Her flow is questionable at best, her lyrics constantly battle with mediocrity and even autotune can’t cover up the fact that she’s not much of a singer either. Sounds like a done deal then: zero stars and let’s never mention her again. But Uffie, real name Anna-Catherine Hartley, makes it clear from the start that she doesn’t aim at being the best. ‘I never claimed to be an artist, I can’t even sing, you know’ she explains in ‘Our Song’. It’s precisely that relativistic self-analysis, which resounds throughout the whole album more or less explicitly, that keeps her from going down like a lead balloon. 

The thing about Uffie is that she is a fighter. Born in Miami, her parents took her with them to Hongkong when she was four. When she was fifteen she moved to Paris with her father where she dropped out of school after getting a chance to make it in music. Her first releases back in 2006 (‘Pop The Glock’ and B-side ‘Ready to Uff’) soon made her the talk of the (underground) town, but personal issues stalled the production process of her debut album, which was originally planned for 2007. Now Uffie may not be as good technically as the Amanda Blanks of this world, but she’s resilient. At age 23, she was back to being single, ready to reestablish her career, while trying to raise her kid at the same time. She took the time to get everything back on track ignoring the passing momentum for her debut. Despite it all she still found her way to the right people and last summer she was finally ready to release. The result may not be an excellent record, but it’s a good effort. 

And she doesn’t refrain from sassing back at the critics. ‘Art of Uff’ is your text book example of self-aggrandizement; part act, part attitude, but indispensible for any self-respecting MC. In ‘Ricky’ the same diva emerges, as she asks her entourage if it would be possible to get some trained monkeys to mix some songs (‘Can you do that?’). But it’s with a sense of wit as she wonder whether it’s ‘the cute monkeys like in a Michael Jackson video’. And ‘maybe we can get them sailor costumes, that’s what I need’. Not that it’s her eloquence that sets her apart: ‘You got an empty fridge, bitch / not me, I eat good’ is far from being lyric of the year. In fact, it’s so poor that it becomes kind of funny. But it works because it expresses what she does best. ‘I’m an entertainer not a lyricist’, she sings in ‘MCs Can Kiss’ a cheerful and chaotic tune, which comprises the essence of her talent. ‘I even tried out to a saxophone and you’d be the first to find out how it sounds’, she concludes and takes off with an suitably bad sax solo. And fade out. 

Admittedly, her beats or not revolutionary, but she does show versatility and above all manages to keep it interesting. And having said that, ‘ADD SUV’ is one of the coolest track of the past year. What it ultimately comes down to is that Uffie makes do with what she can and she does so without misplaced pretense. She never hesitates to question herself by not really trying to hide her lacking skills (if anything she emphasizes them through her excessive vocoder-use), but at the same time silences all the haters by pointing out her success. She did make it to where she is now despite all that. ‘Don’t worry if I write rhymes’, she sings on ‘Difficult’, ‘I write checks’, as if to make people understand that there is no need to interfere with her business. It is with this much needed dose of humor mixed with her don’t-mess-with-me-just-‘cause-I-look-cute-attitude that she manages to keep her act together. ‘Sex Dreams And Denim Jeans’ is by no means a great record, but for a bad one it’s surprisingly good.


Tracklist
1. Pop The Glock
2. Art Of Uff
3. ADD SUV (ft. Pharrell Williams)
4. Give It Away
5. MCs Can Kiss
6. Difficult
7. First Love
8. Sex Dreams And Denim Jeans
9. Our Song
10. Illusion Of Love (ft. Mattie Safer)
11. Neuneu
12. Brand New Car
13. Hong Kong Garden
14. Ricky

Christina Aguilera - Bionic

Tagline: ‘I’m not cocky, I just love myself…BITCH!’

Making pop music used to be a lot easier in the old days. All you needed was a fairly attractive girl (or boy), some generic songs about love and heartbreak and a flavorless mix of beats. Not that mainstream pop music is now deep, layered and about something, but at least it has gotten edgier. It’s okay to show personality, even if it’s a clever commercial construction. Today’s pop princesses are colorful, bold and unafraid to shock and that makes it more difficult than ever to establish yourself amongst them. Even if you’re Christina Aguilera. And in that light she decided to reinvent herself as an electro pop artist, jumping on the wagon of what’s in at the moment. But ‘Bionic’ is definitely not the beginning of a new, alternative Aguilera modeled after Robyn, who did pretty much that in 2005. 

Not to say that it’s all bad: ‘Bionic’ contains some excellent pop songs. This is not least thanks to lyrical contributions by M.I.A., Nicki Minaj and Peaches to name just a few. And you also have to commend Aguilera for stepping out of the box. In ‘Elastic Love’, her role is reduced to the chorus, while M.I.A. takes in away. The result is an insanely catchy electro pop song. Just a bit flat to be on an M.I.A. album, but surprisingly fresh coming from the girl responsible for ‘Genie In A Bottle’. On ‘Woohoo’, it’s extravagant R&B newcomer Nicki Minaj assisting the singer. Lyrically the song is a pretty blunt invitation for oral sex, but once you tune that out, you’re left with a pretty decent track. Shallow, but fun. Even lead single ‘Not Myself Tonight’ sounds fairly acceptable, once you get over the soft-core bondage video that went with it. ‘Vanity’ however, the pretend-pretentious conclusion to ‘Bionic’, demonstrates how trying too hard can tip the scale from fashionably eccentric to bordering on ridiculous. The gay guy in me loves the song’s attitude and over the top self-glorification, but the realist in me can’t help but feel as if this is in the first place a misguided attempt of Aguilera to differentiate herself from the vast range of outrageous female pop singers that has emerged over the past few years. However, Katy Perry singing about how she kissed a girl is just naughty. Christina Aguilera singing about how it’s basically okay being a superficial whore reeks of desperation. And unfortunately the album also had to contain a handful of fairly pedestrian, yet obligatory ballads, in which Aguilera could exhibit her vocal range (thanks for nothing, Sia). It feels unnecessary to have five if they’re only going to sound exactly like every ballad she has ever recorded.

Some accused her of owing a lot to Lady Gaga’s successful combination of catchy electro pop and eccentric appearance. These days it’s difficult to determine who came up with it first and either way it’s a valiant effort, but she could have spent a little less time making it sound more out there and a little more time just making it better than the competition. Unfortunately one can’t help but feel as if this is more than anything an example of how trying too hard doesn’t always make for the best result. Sometimes less is more. At its best ‘Bionic’ shows that there is still room out there for someone with her talent in today’s pop scene. At its worst it sounds like Ke$ha – the musical equivalent of crotchless panties and empty liquor bottles – only without the satire. Or even worse: like Christina Aguilera some five years ago. There is no amount of explicit sexual content or girl-on-girl action that can cover that up.


Tracklist
1. Bionic
2. Not Myself Tonight
3. Woohoo
4. Elastic Love
5. Desnudate
6. Love & Glamour (Intro)
7. Glam
8. Prima Donna
9. Morning Dessert (Intro)
10. Sex For Breakfast
11. Lift Me Up
12. My Heart (Intro)
13. All I Need
14. I Am
15. You Last Me
16. I Hate Boys
17. My Girls
18. Vanity