Once known for their exceptional and quirky debut chill-out album Melody A.M., Norway’s Röyksopp was kind enough to include San Francisco as one of the stops on their brief three-city North American tour. In the four years since their 2005 SF show at The Independent, the band’s membership has remained unchanged yet their product has become quite different. The sometimes dark, atmospheric melodies and introverted live presence has been replaced by a tougher, more electro-pop sound, interesting visuals and stage theatrics.
Playing to a sold-out crowd at the Regency Ballroom, Torbjörn Brundtland and Svein Berge were joined by Anneli Drecker whose mysterious vocals were a spot-on fit for the blippy, joyous, Norwegian club-pop. Drecker was the focal point as she posed in an ever-changing array of costumes that would make Daft Punk proud. The set list was a mix of tracks from all three studio albums, though the more placid tracks from Melody A.M. and The Understanding were given a club-friendly conversion. Although this is to be expected given the percussion-driven and pop-influenced style of 2009’s Junior, the live show still captured the festive atmosphere and triumphant and danceable sensibilities of their 2005 EP Röyksopp’s Night Out.
The 15-track set included an extended version of “Eple,” a vocoder-thickened version of “Remind Me,” “Happy Up Here,” “Poor Leno,” a disco-tinged “So Easy,” “You Don’t Have a Clue,” a raucous and frenetic “This Must Be It” and a groovy, head-bobbing, down-tempo version of “What Else Is There.” The pace never slowed to allow songs like the red-velvet lounge of “Sparks” to fit in although there were occasional momentum-disrupting pauses between songs. In every instance, the sophisticated melodies and lush instrumentation were given a very dance-worthy treatment that never felt forced or awkward. Along with Flunk, Röyksopp continues to be one of Norway’s hippest musical exports.
Combining bits from The Chemical Brothers, ABBA and Orbital, Röyksopp constructs some seriously addictive beats, innovative melodies and swirling, brooding electro-pop. This time out, it’s more suited for the club than the coffee shop.
Set List:
Royksopp Forever
This Must Be It
Remind Me
Happy Up Here
Tricky Tricky
Alpha Male
You Don’t Have a Clue
I Wanna Know
The Girl And the Robot
Eple
What Else Is There?
Only This Moment
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So Easy
Poor Leno
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Fat Burner
