Royksopp - Royksopp's Night Out Album Review

Royksopp
Royksopp's Night Out
Album Review

This live EP was recorded during the climax of Royksopp's World tour in Oslo in November 2005 and features a combination of new material and tracks from Melody AM and The Understanding.

This live set starts with The Understandings "What Else Is There?" arguably Royksopp's most hideously cheesy song to date and a song that makes Norway's recent Eurovision Song Contest entry seem credible. Other tracks that appear from Royksopp's most recent record are "Alpha Male" which is a long drawn out growling electronic monster and "Only This Moment" with live vocals from Royksopp & Kate Havnevik, swirling electronics, and heavy vocoder action resulting in a justified take on the original.

The Melody AM tracks within this live set seem to take on "The Understanding" approach leaning towards the Euro-pop sound. The disjointed "Remind Me" has two drum rhythms mixed together that don't quite gel which quickly becomes an annoying distraction. "Poor Leno" begins as a pounding techno number before another cheesy synth melody spoils proceedings. The only strong cut from Royksopp's debut album is "Sparks" with a sweet arppegiated synth melody, extremely funky bassline and solid live vocals from Anelli Drecker.

The undoubted highlight lies within the new material with Royksopp's cover of Queens of The Stone Age classic "Go With The Flow". Atari-like electronics imitate the drums and guitar and Svien Berge does a surprisingly good job of recreating Josh Ritters vocals. The other new tracks include "Go Away" which is a Depeche Mode/Human League inspired number with live vocals coming via Cheonis R.Jones, and the set closer "Teppefall" which despite its ambient beauty falls disappointingly premature (at less than 1 min)

Overall, Royksopp's Night Out is pretty disappointing. A poor set-list is largely responsible and despite the satisfactory level of live technical skills, the Norwegian duo's best work is hardly displayed. The few tracks that you would expect to be there are generally poor renditions.

If you're a hardened Royksopp fan that really enjoyed "The Understanding" or just a fan of cheesy Euro-pop/trance in general then you might find this release a worthy addition. Otherwise, it's probably best that you keep your money firmly in your pocket.

Colin Burrill