Junior

1. Happy Up Here
2. The Girl And The Robot
3. Vision One
4. This Must Be It
5. Röyksopp Forever
6. Miss It So Much
7. Tricky Tricky
8. You Don't Have A Clue
9. Silver Cruiser
10. True To Life
11. It's What I Want

• The leading group of the Bergen wave of ambient house music, Royksopp created an inventive style of immersive electronic soundscapes. Critically well received, their early albums captured the perfect balance of club euphoria and early morning melancholy. The first instalment in a duo of albums, Junior promises to be a lively counterpart to the more reflective Senior (due towards the end of 2009). Its already attracted positive critical attention with its significant shift in emphasis towards an upbeat and rhythmically driven collection of songs, in contrast to the traditional Royksoppian floating soundscapes.
  
  Opening track 'Happy Up Here' strikes from the start with an energetic, bouncy, and impossibly catchy synthesized hook. It has a playful naivety suggestive of the album's title. The momentum is continued with 'The Girl And The Robot', boasting more synthesized hooks and infectious vocals from Swedish chanteuse Robyn. 'Tricky Tricky' overflows with a vocal enthusiasm from Karin Dreijer that wouldn't be out of place on a Bjork album. The record possesses an undeniably melancholic side, as if Junior is progressing towards its adolescence. This is most apparent in 'Vision One', featuring Anneli Drecker. The song combines a stylish vocal performance with an array of inventive aural trickery that pushes the framework of the song to its limits, literally creaking over the strong synthesized rhythm. It's a credit to the duo that such wizardry never overpowers the melody of the song. Building from a traditionally Royksoppian floaty introduction, a heavy, funky synthesized beat propells the song into life. Drecker's vocals glide effortlessly between hauntingly melodic and sultrily seductive. The synthesizer generates an increasing intensity that works to unsettle the beauty of the vocals - it's impressively clever stuff. 'Royksopp Forever' is almost classical in its composition, and is a reflective moment of burgeoning maturity. Likewise, 'Silver Cruiser's' ambient aural journey is punctuated by a subtle distortion suggestive of the struggle of adolescence towards adulthood.
  
  Following the energetic naivete of the opening tracks, the album progresses towards a more complete sound that incorporates the traditional ambience of Royksopp's previous albums with this newfound dynamic. Any accusations of repetitiveness will fall well short of their target with Junior. It is both a fun and thoughtful offering that has enough variety to keep even the most discerning electro-connoisseur interested, while its crafted songs and strong vocal performances will appeal to a wide range of listeners. On the strength of this effort, the follow up, Senior, will be much anticipated.

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