Robyn’s new songs bring “drum 'n' grace” to the dance floor
1/21/202646 min
Swedish pop star Robyn emerged as a phenomenon in the mid 1990s, an ingenue whose work with Max Martin presaged the R&B crossover hits of acts like Britney and the Backstreet Boys. Since her debut, she’s released a string of albums that have shaped the sound of dance music as we know it. Now, Robyn is releasing her first new album in eight years, Sexistential, and she’s given us three singles made up of her signature combination of thumping bass and ethereal vocals, while innovating into new personal –and vulnerable — territory. With raps about IVF, references to Blondie, a return to her collaboration with Max Martin, and our introduction of “drum n grace” to the lexicon, this episode is manna for Robyn fans and tyros alike. Stick around as we unveil a new feature, “Quick Hits,” a down-and-dirty carousel ride through the most interesting new releases, from ASAP Rocky to Zach Bryan. Songs discussed: Robyn – Dopamine Robyn – Show Me Love Charli XCX, Robyn, Yung Lean – 360 remix Jamie XX, Robyn – Life Robyn – Konichiwa Bitches Blondie – Rapture Robyn – Honey Robyn – Missing U Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend Taio Cruz – Dynamite Robyn – Play Robyn – Talk to Me Robyn – Do You Know (What It Takes) Robyn – Sexistential Andre 3000 – I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time Robyn – Cobrastyle Robyn – Dancing On My Own A$AP Rocky – PUNK ROCKY Zach Bryan – Plastic Cigarette David Byrne – Driver's License Moonchild – Up From Here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
[static] Heated Rivalry is a massive hit. [audience clapping] Everyone's talking about the sex, but it's just as much about the exquisite pain of having a crush.
Sapna0:11
And I think yearning can provide this sort of, like, masochistic joy, too, and, like, we all need more joy in our lives right now.
Speaker 00:21
This week on Explain It To Me from Vox, love hurts, and it hurts so good. New episodes Sundays wherever you get your podcasts.
Nate Sloan· Host0:30
[static] [upbeat music] Welcome to Switched on Pop. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan.
Charlie Harding· Host0:43
And I'm songwriter Charlie Harding.
Nate Sloan· Host0:44
Charlie, it's Robyn Day here at Switched on Pop. The Swedish singer and dance music maven has released her first album in eight years, and it's a return to some of the sounds that made her such a mononymic force in the music industry to begin with.
Charlie Harding· Host1:02
The Robyn gets the worm.
Nate Sloan· Host1:03
I'm gonna ignore that. Let's get a taste of this new [laughing]... [laughing] ... release from the first of three singles that have been, uh, dropped from this upcoming album titled Sexistential.
Charlie Harding· Host1:17
Sexistential.
Nate Sloan· Host1:17
Here's Dopamine.
Robyn· Soundbite1:21
... But I'm not alone. I know it's just dopamine. But it feels so weird to me. This