So I was watching TV and one of those stupid GEICO cavemen commercials came on:
The ad is lame, but I was grooving on that song. After some research on the Interwebs, I found the name of the song (Remind Me) and the artist (Röyksopp). I probably looked for the CD at Amazon, saw that an import version was too expensive, and quickly forgot all about it. A few months later, I saw this CD at the local used music store and picked it up. Being a fan of Air and Zero 7, the music here appealed to me. This Norwegian duo is a little more trip-hop than those other acts, but still harkens back to '70s and '80s analog synth sounds. Metacritic gives the album a score of 81 (universal acclaim), based on 21 critics. The best line from a critic comes from Pitchfork's Nitsuh Abebe: "Röyksopp are, ultimately, too beautiful to hate and too harmless to really love." It's good stuff if you like chill out music; I'm surprised I haven't bought more of this group's music. I'm told that chill out music is best in the early morning after a long night of dancing/clubbing (maybe that explains the CD title). I'm sure I wouldn't know; I'm too old for all that.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Unlike most downbeat electronica, most of the tracks don't sound the same after a while. The lead-off track, So Easy, is a quirky wash of synths over an old Bacharach tune, while In Space sounds like it should be soundtrack music. A more dance-oriented track, Poor Leno, which samples the 1975 hit Fly Robin Fly by Silver Convention, was familiar to me from the SSX3 video game. Of course, Remind Me is one the better songs on the disc, but the best might be Eple. The only skippable track here is A Higher Place.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above
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