Why choose between dancing and crying when you can do both?
Body Talk
Robyn
100
Early on in her seventh full-length album—and international breakthrough—the Swedish pop star makes a declaration: “Fembots have feelings, too.” And, boy, does Body Talk have feelings. The album launched two of the 21st century’s definitive “sad bangers”—“Dancing on My Own” and “Call Your Girlfriend”—inspiring a wave of aching but triumphant crying-on-the-dance-floor anthems.
But Body Talk’s emotional core is embodied by more than just those two instant classics. On “Love Kills” and “Hang With Me,” Robyn reminds listeners to steel themselves against the potential hurt and heartbreak of love. Alongside those considerable moments of vulnerability, there are also songs that teem with strutting, defiant confidence: the stark “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” and the bizarre but wonderful Snoop Dogg collaboration “U Should Know Better,” with its pulsing beats and playful boasting. (Few pop stars save for Robyn could successfully deliver a line like “Even the Vatican knows not to fuck with me.”) And every single track here is an airtight addition to the vision articulated on “Fembot”: This is an album that’s immaculate and poised, featuring a protagonist unafraid to bare her soul.
“Any great pop writer will tell you that Robyn is a huge inspiration.”
Niall Horan