Swedish singer Robyn is undoubtedly a curious case-study: she first enjoyed success back in the mid '90s, when a couple of her singles charted in the US. She then fell off the international radar for ten years, before enjoying a resurgence with her self-titled 2005 album, and of late there has been a considerable online buzz around her new record, Body Talk Pt 1 (parts 2 and 3 are due later in the year).
The attention is at least partially attributable to the current mania in the charts for trashy electro pop of the kind purveyed by Lady GaGa. It's doubtful whether there is a hit of 'Poker Face' style proportions lurking on Body Talk Pt 1, and I found the album to be pretty underwhelming, largely due to Robyn's irritating singing. Tracks such as 'Fembot' and 'Dancing On My Own' (co-written by one Patrik Berger – presumably not the former Liverpool winger) are decent electro tracks, but spoiled by Robyn's squeaky vocals, which – and I do not use these words lightly – recall Lene Nystrom of Aqua, the Scandivian popsters responsible for the harrowing 'Barbie Girl'.
The worst example of is 'Dancehall Queen', where Robyn's twee singing detracts from the excellent backing track, co-written by ace US dance producer Diplo. By far and away the best tunes are the Miss Kitten-like 'Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do' and 'None Of Dem' (the latter a collaboration with Rokysopp), on which the singer adopts a more understated vocal style.
Otherwise, Body Talk Pt 1 is a bit ho-hum – and certainly doesn't possess pop nugget like Imagination's 'Body Talk'.