ROYKSOPP 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: After 15 years and five sporadic albums, Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brandtland have decided to call time on Royksopp. While they've struggled in recent years to recapture the lush, melodious intent and effortless pop sensibility of breakthrough LP Melody AM, The Inevitable End proves that they've not lost the midas touch. While shot through with a mild sense of fatalism - see the poignant pop of "I Had To Go" and the bittersweet strings of "Rong" - there are plenty of glimpses of their jaunty best stretched across the two CDs (frequent collaborator Robyn providing the obligatory punch on "Running To The Sea" and the shimmering, 80s electro-influenced "Save Me"). While naturally melancholic and a touch world-weary, The Inevitable End is a fitting last hurrah.

Review: Given the wide-eyed, largely downtempo nature of their music, it's perhaps a little surprising that it took Late Night Tales this long to ask Royksopp to mix a volume in the long-running after-hours series. Royksopp are, of course, old hands at this kind of thing - they delivered an impressive Back To Mine comp back in 2007 - and use the opportunity to mix-up a typically heady selection of stoner soft rock (Little River Band, FR David), sparse dub-rock (Tuxedomoon), cinematic soundscapes (Johann Johannsen), psychedelia (Prelude), well-worn favourites (Acker Bilk) and folksy Balearica (John Martyn). Fans will be pleased to see a sprinkling of unreleased Royksopp fare, including intensely beautiful opener "Daddy's Groove".