Röyksopp

As soon as bloggers and critics started to digest advance copies of Senior, the fourth LP from Norwegian dance-poppers Röyksopp was being labelled "atmospheric," "withdrawn" and "downbeat." But it's a testament to the panache and energy behind last year's phenomenal Junior that Senior can be described in such sweeping terms. Released as a companion album, the instrumentally inclined Senior isn't the ugly stepchild many have deemed it. Of course, next to the cool-laid jammers that have defined Röyksopp's career, songs like "Tricky Two" and "The Drug" sound like they contain fewer layers of character and melody, but they're merely presented that way. Röyksopp channels top-notch composers on Senior, like Ennio Morricone for finger picking slow-jam "Forsaken Cowboy" and A.R. Rahman's for the lotus flower bloom of "Coming Home." The pure fact that Senior and Junior were recorded in the same session is proof that at this moment, nobody should be surprised at what Röyksopp can do.