KEY POINTS:
Herald Rating: * * * *
Label: Konichiwa Records/Universal
Verdict: Hallelujah - all hail the Swedish saviour of bubblegum pop
Not since Lordi won Eurovision has Scandinavia been such an exciting source of music. Robyn and her platinum crop might seem as exotic as her country of origin but the Swede first made an impression in the late 90s with dance-pop hits Show Me Love and Do You Know (What It Takes) before she disappeared for eight years.
She doesn't waste time reintroducing herself as this year's coolest pop star. On Konichiwa Bitches she raps, "I'm so very hot that when I rob your mansion, you ain't call the cops, you call the fire station". Her voice is equal parts Janet Jackson, Neneh Cherry and Gwen Stefani but she makes up for her butter-wouldn't-melt tones with lyrical sass that makes it hard to believe English is her second language.
Robyn's is the electro-pop album the world has been waiting for since Madonna's last effort. Among the instant pop classics are Who's That Girl, which is essentially a jacked-up version of Heartbeats by the Knife, the party-girl-spurning Crash And Burn Girl and the Prince-like Should Have Known. Even the album's garish trance-pop anthem With Every Heartbeat is irresistible. Yes, it's cheesy, girly and oh-so-Swedish, ja. Even if you don't know who she is now, before long you won't be able to escape her.
