Concert review: Röyksopp, Oslo Spektrum: The soup tour continues

Norway’s most notable electronic duo will perform in concert and rave party – and have partial success in both.

Say what you will about “Deep Mysteries,” Röyksopp’s three-part album from last year, but it’s neither particularly deep nor mysterious.

Confession is rather the overarching theme of these three album releases – from the soaring analog fetish of the duo and choice of singers to the delicate balance between patiently constructed greatness and unresolved boredom, as well as the very inactive pursuit of a new hit à la “Eple” or “Poor Leno” – two Norwegian electric classics who, absurdly enough, turn 22 this year.

The indisputable elephant in the room: filler definitely shows up among these thirty songs.

However, all of the songs from “Deep Mysteries” came equipped with an elaborate movie clip art, and it is perhaps the exact visual that much of the evening’s anticipation is associated with.

Unless Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge bring some bright living people into their scheme, then.

Tromsøværingen kicked off the show at the Spektrum with two songs from “Deep Mysteries”. Two figures in red clothes seem to be singing “The Impossible,” though it’s clearly Alison Goldfrapp’s voice that we hear.

However, both the subsequent “This Time, This Place” benefit from stark and solid performances, sonically, in terms of lighting and scenography. In addition, the guest vocalist can be seen on the last song. Becky Marie?

The Spektrum’s volume sometimes gets close to what’s acceptable, on both ends of the scale, but it still has to be said that volume is an essential part of the offering.

Heavy and sweet, “Girl and the Robot” comes equipped with dancers, but lacks a main character. “Monument” is also presented without Robyn. Here the duo drops for the first time tonight – the blue stage lights and live drumming don’t make up for one of the sexiest singers in the world.

In contrast, Astrid S and Susanne Sundfør are both very much in the group. The former injects much-needed youthful energy into “Let’s Get it Right” and “Breathe.” Sundfør does what Sundfør does – limping a bit on “If You Let Me”, clinging to the stage ceiling without a safety net on “Running to the Sea” and almost daringly dashing off on “Never Ever”.

Brundtland and Berg are well aware of what they want to deliver this evening (“Oslo!”), and introducing singers is not on the list.

So far, that’s fair enough. But when jagged lasers, monochromatic stage lighting, and smoke percolate in so insistently that you have to squint to see the respective actors make up the visual expression, it all feels a little plain in a place like Oslo Spektrum.

Sometimes, it’s as if Röyksopp would like to throw a party tonight. To some extent, they did too—in part, with impressive results. But they were not entirely successful in moving the club into a concert hall, or vice versa.

Equally Cursed: A satisfying trip on mushrooms, this time, too.

Looking back when VGTV caught up with Röyksopp in 2009: