ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 6TH 2010


“We dance to the beat of false math and unrecognised genius.” So sings Robyn on We Dance To The Beat, one of many brilliant slabs of electro-pop brilliance offered up on Body Talk Pt. 2. Perhaps she’s being indirectly self-referential, but it’s a truth that’s somehow just too difficult to believe. One year on from the Body Talk series, Robyn still remains something of an enigma to the mainstream she seems so determined to crack. Not that her efforts have gone unnoticed; she’s the preeminent ‘alternative’ pop star of the day, appealing equally to a large section of chart-followers (note: mostly tech-savvy Last.fm individuals) and the more ardent, mature listener. Gaga showed us how solid an eight-track release could be with The Fame Monster and Robyn cements this even further with Body Talk Pt. 2. Pop music has a short attention span and albums that are invested in this genre should not play beyond sixty minutes. Take every song Robyn released in 2010 and their combined length is way beyond one hour of pop power, but by splitting their releases into three succinct chapters she kept things fresh and built hype. In this sense, Body Talk should be rightly hailed as a triumphant experiment of how pop music can be accessed and distributed at the turn of the decade. She’s also picked up an army of new fans since.


The third and final installment came a few months after this, and it can be said that each progressive release was slightly less solid than the one that came before it. We know this from the songs that have held up most upon a year’s retrospective, and the keepers are mostly from Pt. 1. What’s also interesting is how the series evolved; listened to in succession, the production becomes more elaborate and more involved. Robyn clearly worked on these songs in between the three release dates, reworking and tweaking wherever she felt neccessary. In this sense she’s a true pop music pioneer and as a result Pt. 2 feels like trademark Robyn, playing like an almost instant greatest hits collection. The first four tracks are particularly solid with In Your Eyes getting things moving with its shimmering synths and emotive core. “Little star, I got you / You’ll be okay,” she insists as the song fades out, and all of a sudden you’re left with a sentiment that only pop music can instill when done properly. Hang With Me shares a similar theme of familiarity and security that Robyn does by now with relative ease. Whilst not the greatest pop vocalist around, Robyn has a spectacularly potent and impassioned vocal delivery that makes you care. Here she’s gently warning a potential suitor about the dangers of falling in love too soon. It’s not angry or patronising or even slightly a put down. It’s full of heart and soul.


Robyn wears her heart on her sleeve frequently here but it’s always contrasted by her wilder, more sassy side. Include Me Out balances these two equally with a sincere vocal refrain, articulated with poise, charm and a knowing wink of a desire to feel a part of something bigger. Then she’s a warrior on Love Kills, an ice queen for the 21st Century warning of the dangers of love. Whilst her foreboding is meant universally, it feels more like a red flag to how to go about dealing with love in a digital, almost mechanical age devoid of emotion and warmth. “If you’re looking for love, get a heart made of steel / Cause you know that love kills.” It’s the most serious moment on an album packed with lighter, more care free associations. And that’s the only serious moment here; Robyn is a serious artist and deserves to be taken seriously, but her music is written and produced on a whim that is delightfully charming. This is the main source of her appeal and the key reason to her re-play ability. Take We Dance To The Beat, a wonderfully elaborate and atmospheric piece of electro-pop that repeats the title phrase dozens of times over the course of four and a half minutes. In any one else’s hands, it’s an annoying and deliberately maddening slogan. Not here. U Should Know Better employs the rapping talents of none other than Snoop Dogg, and the two bounce off each other with mock attitude about how no one can or will fuck with them. It’s hilarious and brilliant, and follows on in a similar vein from the underrated Criminal Intent, a song that could’ve slotted quite easily in Britney Spears’ similarly underrated Blackout album with its dirty beat and growling bass.


Pt. 2 ends in an almost similar way to its predecessor, with an acoustic version of a song that is fleshed out and more fully realised on its successor. Indestructible is different to Hang With Me in the sense that Robyn has moved on in her relationship. Alerting her potential new boyfriend of how to go about dating her has worked against her: now she’s going all the way and is prepared to love unconditionally because she and her love are indestructible. The beauty of the song is inherent in the fact that she’s obviously not indestructible; she’s vulnerable, she’s afraid and susceptible to hurt and pain just like everyone. Going back to Love Kills, she’s prepared to make herself strong to shield herself from any potential danger. It’s an idea that extends way beyond the territory of relationships and can work ideally as a source of inspiration and hope for Robyn’s target audience. Fans need to believe in their heroes and Robyn is clearly an idol for self-belief. The final installment in the series was a let down only because of the lack of new material on offer, and as such cannot really be considered a worthy competitor to the first two and their towering achievement. Cleverly, Robyn released a final album simple titled Body Talk, collecting the best of all three installments. It is in itself one of the finest pop records in recent memory.