Robyn: Body Talk PopMatters

We all know how this review should go.

By effectively combining all of the best moments of Robyn`s Body Talk trilogy, this massive full-length album should be rightly hailed for containing the almost dramatic, forward-thinking pop music to get round all year, cementing the Swedish dance queen`s reputation as one of the smartest, wittiest, and exciting artists currently out there.

Really, the all thing doubles over as celebration for her extraordinary 2010, wherein after a bit of an absence from the music scene (let`s not leave her final disc-the insta-classic Robyn-initially came out in 2005) she gave us not only one but three albums of new music, scored a UK Top 10 hit with "Dance on My Own", and leave presently be topping scores upon tons of year-end best-of lists for continuing to search the many facets of her cathartic pop leanings.

Unfortunately, the true world is this: the three Body Talk mini-albums-as wonderful as they are-are by no means perfect, and by slinging all the best moments together on a "greatest hits" reel, something gets lost in translation. Although both Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 were weighed down by just a few less-than-stellar moments, their skimmed-down track listings (only eight tracks a piece! made Robyn`s eccentricities very digestible, and therefore, quite endearing. When spread out over 15 tracks, however, said eccentricities begin to thematically repeat themselves, and suddenly we notice that we`re losing a bit of the uniqueness that drew us into Robyn`s world in the foremost place.

Some of the trouble rests with things as bare as track placement: Body Talk, Pt. 1 opener "Don`t Fucking Tell Me What to Do" worked because its teasing acapella line "My drinkin` is killing me" served as fantastic way to start right into Robyn`s abrasive, pop-on-her-own-terms world, putting away a part that`s rough around the edges yet hopelessly romantic at the core. Yet when said track is 3rd in business on the Body Talk full-length, its in-your-face impact is considerably weakened, especially when next the trashy fun of a strain like "Fembot". Suddenly, songs that we once considered out-and-out highlights lose a bit of their sheen when situated in a new, thematic context.

So while Body Talk serves as a general overview of all three parts of the series (the five Pt. 3 tracks make their debut here, but are also available separately), not merely does it fail to cohere as a square full-length, but there are a few glaring omissions. While Pt. 1 contained such smart, sky-scraping hits like "Dancing on My Own", "Fembot", and the dark, sexy club-throb of "None of Dem" (aided by Ryksopp) and Pt. 2 featured slightly more off-kilter selections like the downright experimental "We Dance to the Stick" and the thundering Snoop Dogg-assist of "U Should Know Better", extraordinary tracks like "Include Me Out" (from Pt. 2) and the powerful anthem "Cry When You Get Older" (from Pt. 1) fall to the roadside to give room for respectable-but-not-incredible efforts like "Dancehall Queen" and "In My Eyes". Suddenly, Body Talk is racking up B efforts and stressful to give them off as top-of-the-class winners, leaving the end lead to be more deflating than thrilling.

Although Body Talk tries to keep face by giving us two new versions of tracks we`ve heard before, both efforts-though decent-still pale in comparison to their earlier incarnations. The acoustic "Indestructible" we heard on the ending of Pt. 2 recalled earlier wonders like "Be Mine!" wherein Robyn`s simple plea of wanting to "know you like I`ve never been weakened before" is given additional gravitas by being set over a dramatic string section with absolutely no other instruments coming into play. It was a bold move, but it served that song`s sense of drama extremely well. The new version (and lead single), with its ascending keyboard bubbles and strobe-like chorus, sounds great on the dance floor, but by swapping out strings for synths, Robyn`s voice gets lost amidst the laser lights, and its impact just isn`t as strong. "Dancing on My Own", however, is a different story. In the original Pt. 1 incarnation, the dry, mechanical throb that opens up the song served as a perfect backdrop for Robyn`s passionate, deeply moving story of watching her man be glad with somebody else. On the "Radio Remix", though, this dramatic form is watered down by tossing in a bubbly new keyboard melody that robs the course of a lot of its drama. Yes, the choir is even as cathartic and extraordinary as it was before, but this is assuredly not the definitive interpretation of the track.

Fortunately, the new Pt. 3 tracks are almost on par with the 5 best tracks of any of the former Body Talk entries. "Time Machine" is a nice, rave-ready story about want you could fix mistakes from the past, while the quietly unassuming closer "Stars 4-Ever" is a sweet mid-tempo track about not always being too far from the one you love-both are solid, respectable entries into the trilogy. Yet impart it Robyn to write two of her best tracks for last: "Get Myself Together" and the remarkable "Call Your Girlfriend". The other is designed to be a full-on anthem, its pulsating beat simply increases in strength with each iteration until it explodes into a remarkably self-deprecating chorus, wherein following the wake of a bad break, Robyn notes that "I can`t tell what`s good or wrong / I like that something could be done / I`m not that clever / When this pain is gone / I got to get myself together", picking herself up but not before giving herself some moments to let the world of the situation sink in.

"Call Your Girlfriend", though, stands alongside "Dancing on My Own", "Handle Me", and "With Every Instant" as one of those rare Robyn tracks that finds a way to use its overtly commercial pop framework to distinguish a rather emotional, pointed relationship tale that is heads-and-shoulders above about of what`s on mainstream radio today. Here, over a short-circuiting tap-beat and `80s synth washes, Robyn finds true love with a guy who scarce so happens to get a girlfriend. In this gorgeous ultimatum of a song, she tells her new man exactly what he needs to do to give it off with his girlfriend, in a way that`s as excited as it is respectable:

"Call your girlfriend It`s time you had the talk Give your reasons Say it`s not her fault But you only met someone new And now it`s gonna be me and you"

Robyn cuts right to the effect of things, and about of her lines could help as the ground for all other sings in and of themselves. Although we didn`t necessarily require any more proof that Robyn is the original at articulating those small, painful moments people go through in only about any relationship, a tail like "Call Your Girl" only adds to her reputation as one of the smartest pop divas working out there today, and understanding enough to get Body Speak for yourself.

It`s only a pity that while Body Talk contains some of the most extraordinary pop music to be released all year, its touch is diminished by a few poor song inclusions and a difficult track listing that inadvertently highlights how about of the same motifs reoccur throughout the Body Talk project, making the full-length Body Talk sound more repetitious than it really is. When all three parts are taken together, though, it`s obvious that somewhere in that farrago of tracks, Robyn has truly crafted the Album of the Year. Body Talk, however, is not it.

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