Cantovani's Senior moment

A Twitterer said Senior ‘feels like a blend of early Air, Boards of Canada and Ratatat’. I replied ‘Depends how 'senior' you are. To me, this LP recalls Can, Mantovani and Hawkwind.’ That’s Röyksopp for you (aka Cantovani).

Last year, with Junior, I jumped too soon. My first review was negative. It was only when I took it on holiday to Japan for three weeks and began to appreciate the textures and influences that I realised it was Röyksopp’s best ever. That said, I didn’t hold out great expectations of Senior, especially when the band described it as Junior’s flip-side low-key moment.

So, I’ve been listening to Senior for three weeks now. It was a great move to pre-release The Drug, then The Fear, probably the album’s best two tracks. But, then, it was a poor idea to include Tricky 2, an inferior instrumental version of the track on Junior.

Three weeks in, my view is therefore that, while I like some of this album, it really is a bunch of out-takes from the Junior sessions that didn’t fit. They’ve packaged it otherwise, but what should have been a 5-track EP is actually a poorly put together 8-track+bonus CD. And that lets Röyksopp down. For there simply hasn’t been any filler on the first three albums.

Don’t get me wrong. Röyksopp are a generous band. They give away a track a month on their website. And, I have to tell you, some of these are better than some of the tracks on Senior. For this reason, I’m kicking out the poor opening track, And The Forest Began To Sing, replacing it with De Ushuaia A La Quiaca, a Röyksopp track of the month from their website. Then, it’s out with the not-very-senior-sounding second track, Tricky 2; and in with This Space. Then I’m leaving alone the next five tracks, as they form the core of this LP. The anaemic final track, Coming Home, also has to go. I’m replacing it with the sublime Malangen Fra Bruhodet. If you bought the CD, there’s a final bonus track, the abominable A Long Long Way. Isn’t this just the worst thing they’ve ever released? Finish it with Electric Counterpoint III (the Milde Salve version).

On the website, the band says: “Senior is the introverted, dwelling and sometimes graceful counterpart to last year’s Junior: brim-full with dark secrets and distorted memories, insisting I’m old, I’ve got experience… Senior is furthermore an album about age, horses and being subdued, with devils breathing down your neck. Each track is equally as important as its predecessor and successor. We feel that none of the tracks should be regarded outside of this context. Quite a ‘brave’/stupid thing to do in this day & age of iPods and cherrypicking, one might suggest. We couldn’t agree more – hell that’s even probably why we did it.”

So, although it was a brave/stupid thing to do, Senior can best be enjoyed in the way Röyksopp describe it as the following set of tracks…

De Ushuaia A La Quiaca
This Space
The Alcoholic
Senior Living
The Drug
Forsaken Cowboy
The Fear
Malangen Fra Bruhodet
Electric Counterpoint III (Milde Salve)

Don’t let me down again, boys! We old ‘uns don’t like having to create our own LPs.

markgriffiths@idealconsulting.co.uk