1/2
Röyksopp's third album begins with a giggle, which is a fitting intro for a band whose mission statement this time around is "to share our music and shed some light in an otherwise bleak reality." All it takes are the opening chords of the ebullient single "Happy Up Here" to accomplish that goal. The Norwegian duo — best known in America for "Remind Me," which was used in those Geico caveman commercials — has definitely upped the club-going ante this time. "The Girl and the Robot," which features Swedish pop sensation Robyn, is the first of many clubby cuts to feature guest vocals from fellow Scandinavians.
Anneli Drecker sings on the slinky "Vision One," the spacious "True to Life" and the soothing "You Don't Have a Clue." The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson puts in great guest turns on "This Must Be It" and "Tricky Tricky." (The former sounds like a gussied-up tune from Andersson's own band.) Lykke Li rounds out the guest-vocal cameos on the meaty electronica track "Miss It So Much," which sort of occupies the space that Air once did. The remaining cus lean toward the kind of ambient stuff that Röyksopp still does well. There's nothing on Junior that's quite as much of an earworm as "Remind Me," but it's still a solid slice of Scandinavian electro -pop.
— Jeremy Willets
