The End?
And that's where the energy of the album stops dead. "Hang With
Me" is an acoustic ballad that Robyn sings beautifully, but something
about it lacks the gravitational pull to keep most of today's
listeners from skipping it. It is a rewarding experience for those
who can listen fully, though. Ultimately, we're all here to hear
Robyn's voice anyway. That's why we fell in love with tracks like "Be
Mine" and "Who's That Girl?" to begin with. It will be interesting to
see if this track gets any sort of remix treatment, either to amp it
up for a commercial release or to make it suitable for clubs. I
believe the track would work well in either direction. The final
track, "Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa" is a Swedish folk song that Robyn
sings with a traditional folk arrangement. It is an odd and
alarmingly human ending to the album.
Summary
With the announcement that only one single will be commercially released from each album in the Body Talk series, it is hard not to wonder why the project was created this way to begin with. Most of Body Talk Pt.1 feels stale or fluffy, lacking a lot of the punch and meat that Robyn usually carries in her music. If the same level of filler can be expected in the next two installments, it may be a cold summer for the Swedish chantuese. This is not her best work, and I would hate to see Robyn fans shell out $8+ per installment for what may end up being 3 solid tracks per release. However, what Robyn has done well on this release she has done extremely well with.
Released June 2010 on Cherrytree/Interscope.
