‘The Inevitable End’ is the Norwegian duo’s fifth and final album, but it’s less a fond farewell and more a dying breath. As the title suggests, it’s an album drenched in overwhelming melancholy, an album that sonically embraces death.
It’s miles away from the playful joie de vivre of previous
releases like ‘Melody AM’ and ‘Junior’. Tracks
like Sordid Affair, Save Me and I Had This Thing certainly have a sense
of dance floor euphoria, but they’re the exception. The titles alone indicate the dejection at
the core of the album, only emphasised by lyrics like “this sordid affair is
ending in tears” and “I brought this house down on myself”. And they’re not the worst. It all begins with opener Skulls that instils a sense of ominous
death with its menacing, bubbling synths; later there’s the defeatist You Know I Have To Go that features a
flat auto-tuned vocal and sombre wisps of melody for seven and a half minutes; the
piano-led Running To The Sea sounds
like an ode to suicide; and the penultimate track is named Coup De Grace which you wish would come a little sooner. There’s even a track called Rong that simply repeats the line “what
the f*ck is wrong with you” over and over, as if the duo are banging their
heads against a brick wall.
What did go wrong? Why
is this album so oppressively sad? As
you’d expect from Röyksopp, the production is impeccable: impossibly elastic
basslines; synths pinging like droplets in space; everything polished and
crafted with immense precision. This isn’t
cold and robotic electronic music; there’s a warmth and humanity that oozes
from every beat, making the album all the more heart-shattering. Yet rarely has this genre sounded so downbeat
and bleak. Whilst some of their previous
material has a darker energy that maintains a sense of urgency, ‘The Inevitable
End’ is joyless. As an exploration of
musical depression it’s definitely a success, but if saying goodbye is so
difficult, why say goodbye at all?
The second track is a remix of Monument, a track that featured on their collaborative EP with
Robyn ‘Do It Again’ earlier this year. Yet
where, in its original incarnation, the track is a pensive opener that
contrasts with the glorious title track, it’s clear now the duo won’t be doing
it again anytime soon. “This will be my
monument, this will be a beacon when I’m gone” she sings, though if Röyksopp
leave behind any legacy, it won’t be this album. They are a duo who will be remembered for
giving life to the likes of Eple, The Girl And The Robot and Only This Moment, not for
self-destructing in their final hour.
3/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
Monument
Save Me
I Had This Thing
Listen: ‘The Inevitable End’ is available now.
