Greetings, Glancers! To get you up to speed, here’s what I know of Roisin Murphy; She was part of Moloko. I think I saw Moloko live once, but a combination of being drunk/high/not liking them means I can’t honestly remember anything about it. I can only name like two Moloko songs, and I can’t stand either of them. Many moons ago, someone claimed my wife looked like her. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard any of her solo material.
It’s an interesting look they’ve gone for for the cover art – a top shelf lad’s ‘rhythm magazine’ veneer circa late 80s. Is the music going to be all sexy, sleazy, and retro? At least it’s not the sort of artwork you tend to see on an album cover very often. Lets hope the music approaches being this vaguely interesting too. In my now famous words – by the time you get to the next paragraph, I’ll have listened to the thing many times.
The album is sort of sexy, sleazy, and retro but at no time to it give me anything more than a semi; it’s not as interesting as the cover art suggested it may be. Dance music isn’t my thing – certainly not in the long form of an album. Certain songs in the genre are excellent for getting me pumped, but an album rarely does anything unique or exciting enough to hold my interest. Where dance albums often excel is in their production and coherence – Roisin Machine does well in both respects. Where dance albums fall apart is in their repetitive nature and lack of emotional content – Roisin Machine ticks both boxes. In that respect, it’s a perfectly acceptable, perfectly expected dance album.
The album does feature a few songs which are longer than your typical pop standards. I’ll admit this had me curious, but outside of the album highlight Kingdom Of Ends, the songs don’t justify this length. Most run out of steam by the third minute, and most have run out of ideas my the second – we don’t need another four minutes of the same thing. There are moments of creativity which raise it above most chart dance fare – some nods to the idea of a concept album, flirtations with character building, humour, experimentation, and string swells. But it never goes beyond the limited confines of its genre – it needs to be repetitive, monotonous, have a simple beat. All of these may be positives for listeners already into the genre and the artist, but in Roisin’s own words, ‘I want something more’.
Roisin points out in the opening track Simulation, that this is her world, her simulation where she is free to do what she wants and that essentially haters are not part of it and it’s free from all criticism. Nice try, but that’s not how this works. For starters, there’s absolutely no need for the track to be over eight minutes long when there’s about three minutes of material. But, the artist can do what they want. I agree, your own creation is your own world and you can design it as you see fit. But it’s never free from criticism. All of this is very tongue in cheek, of course. She’s simply setting out her stall, from the opening moments and repeated throughout the album, that this is her baby, that she is in control, that she can do what she wants. It’s an idea which isn’t just a motif, it’s a core theme of the album, and one which is built upon, to the point of becoming monotonous. It’s the musical equivalent of that one friend who won’t quit talking about that same topic no-one else is interested in every time you’re together.
I’d have had a lot more fun and interest in the lyrics if they went any further, but they don’t. It’s base feminist stock quotes of the sort you might find framed in a newly divorced woman’s bathroom; that’s great as a place to start, but how is it built upon? There are no off-shoots, there are no other topics of discussion, there are only repeated platitudes. The idea of a simulation opens us up for a world of possibilities, so it’s frustrating that her entire world seems to be a single, blank room.
It’s an album of independence and defiance, and yet it doesn’t feel convincing in the slightest. It feels like someone announcing that they’re the first person to come to some starling revelation but has somehow missed the fact that millions of other people throughout time have gained the same understanding countless times. It’s like the child who celebrates thinking they’ve won when they get to stay up for five more minutes without realising their parents are making them go to bed 10 minutes earlier than usual. It’s like some other illogical and unrelated comparison. It either never feels authentic, or makes me care in any case.
Musically, the album is consistent and is packed with beats and funky moments which are sure to sound good coming out of the car stereo just as much as they’re sure to fill the dancefloor. The atmospheric synths on Something More along with a more nuanced lyric and more interesting vibe ensure it’s a song I’ll come back to, and have already added it to my car playlist. Joining it is the hypnotic Kingdom Of Ends – the first example of the album piecing its tracks together, and another which is happy to build over its six minutes to the point just before it feels like it’s going to go completely off the rails. For me, Dance music works best when it’s either very experimental, when it’s very chilled, when it’s very silly, or when it does go off the rails. It’s no surprise then that my favourite songs on the album meet one of those criteria.
The more traditional, funky moments are weaker than the atmospheric ones, with We Got Together and Jealousy being the exceptions. Album closer Jealousy is nicely frantic, with the beats and bass seemingly trying to outrace each other to the finish line, while We Got Together is a groovy throwback which doesn’t do anything new, but does it all well. Unfortunately, too many of the songs are nothing – Game Changer is only memorable because it’s so irritating, Murphy’s Law offers nothing beyond what any previous songs provide, and Incapable too tuneless to be anything other than forgettable. The few spoken word parts scattered throughout are cringeworthy, and I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy Roisin’s vocals, with their faux-Americana and cheek-chewing tone.
Production wise, I don’t have any issues. The songs blend together well, if not like a Concept album, more like one of those terrible 4 hour DJ Dance sets I was subjected to on Northern Irish Radio stations on a Friday night, circa 2001. The bad news, as we’ve established is that it’s not an album for me. Beyond a few of the more interesting songs which I’ll continue to listen to, it’s one I won’t revisit. The good news is that, it probably is an album for you. I’m usually in the minority when it comes to these things, and my taste is all over the place. It was obviously well-received and people more involved with the genre are sure to get a lot more enjoyment out of it than I did.
SCORE
Sales: 3. Not a smash, not bad. Just fine.
Chart: 3. Her best charting album in some territories, but not exactly a chart-topper all over the place.
Critical: 4. Lets go with a 4 – it ain’t a 5, but I have a feeling we should give a high score here before we get to the other categories.
Originality: 2. Like a few of the other albums I’ve reviewed form 2020, a lot of it feels like a throwback to another time – here it’s a mixture of Disco and 90s club hits.
Influence: 3. It’s probably a 2, because how many hundreds of albums like this are released every year, but with her being a big artist, future creators are bound to find it and take from it.
Musical Ability: 3. Sure.
Lyrics: 2. Not much going for it, too focused on one subject, and too focused on simple platitudes.
Melody: 3. The highlights are good, everything else is average fare.
Emotion: 2. Maybe people can get a 3 out of this, but not me.
Lastibility: 3. A low 3. I believe she has a new album out now, as of 2023, though I may be the only person currently talking about her 2020 release.
Vocals: 2. She can sing, just about, but the tone and sound and style of her vocals is not for me to the extent that they almost ruin the handful of songs I did enjoy.
Coherence: 4. Each song flows into the next. Every lyric talks about the same thing.
Mood: 3. Sure.
Production: 4. Good.
Effort: 3. Fine.
Relationship: 2. Little to me to relate to.
Genre Relation: 3. It sounds like other dance albums, in my incredible expert opinion.
Authenticity: 3. I’ll allow a 3 – I didn’t find it authentic, but I think Roisin believes she is.
Personal: 3. It scrapes a 3 because a couple of the songs are cool.
Miscellaneous: 3. Good artwork. The music made me think of being a teenager, both the good and bad.
Total: 58/100
Let us know in the comments what you think of Roisin Machine!
The Spac Hole 