The Understanding

Melody A.M.	Melody A.M. Arguably one of the best releases of 2002 and unquestionably one of the most original, the filmic, dreamy and mostly instrumental Melody A.M.--from Norwegian duo Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland, or Röyksopp--finds uncommon beauty in the study of contrasts. At once frosty and...	What Else Is There? Title track is backed by the Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix, 'Alpha Male' (Live) and the video for 'What Else Is There?'. Wall Of Sound. 2005.	Angel Milk If there were an award for the album with the most appropriate title, surely Telepopmusik's Angel Milk would be a top contender (possibly pipped to the top slot by Metal Machine Music. But this record is miles away from Lou Reed's deliberate atonal noise, and would therefore win ...	Röyksopp's Night Out Japanese pressing of their 2006 live album. 9 tracks. EMI.
Genetic World Features Cuts by Gonzales, Peaches, Soda Pop and More.	The Reminder Feist is the solo project of Canada's Leslie Feist, a prolific artist who has also played in one capacity or another with Broken Social Scene, Kings of Convenience and half a dozen other bands. The Reminder, her third release, comes from the same well of quiet, appealing songwrit...	Big Calm Blame Tricky and Portishead. They started this whole Bristol sound thing, with sleepy techno beats overshadowed by the chirrupy vocals of some slumberland chanteuse. And--just when you think the approach has lost all its steam, all its relevance--along comes a new outfit to make ...	The Last Resort The Last Resort, a surprisingly accessible and wide-ranging work by minimal and tech-house phenom Anders Trentemøller, is a winter wonderland of quiet phosphorescence and pristine beats. Not that the Danish composer/producer/remixer is above contrasts, as in "Evil Dub," where he...	In Rainbows Pink Bowl 6 1/8"

Awesom
I really enjoyed this MP3 Download. The quality was excellent and the Amazon MP3 downloader worked great. The MP3s are unprotected, just as advertised. I will definitely buy MP3's from amazon again, and will be picking up another royksopp cd as well!

Just didn't expect this
As one of the reviewers said if you really liked MELODY AM, you might be up for a surprise here. I suggest you listen to this album very carefully before buying it. From mellow electro of MELODY AM, they went to electro-POP with an aftertaste of the 80's for many songs in THE UNDERSTANDING. Sometimes, I hear some sounds of Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, and others in the after-taste portion of the songs. Music is always hard to describe, that's the best I can do. Their songs 11-12 of THE UNDERSTANDING are probably the ones I prefer, still they're not brilliant, and #11 reminds me of AIR.

A step up from Melody AM, and that's quite a feat
If you absolutely loved "Melody AM", then this album may be a little bit of a disappointment for you. If, however, you loved "Melody AM" but found it ever so slightly lacking, like I did, you will probably be elated with this offering. I loved "Melody AM" but missed the vocals that I tend to relish on downtempo/trip-hop records. While Melody had vocals, they felt a little bit like an afterthought. The star of the show on that album was the atmospheric, Nordic soundscapes. While completely enjoyable to listen to, Melody AM just didn't translate for me like this album so consistenly does. This CD truly starts for me on the bubbly and effervescent "Only This Moment". I loved the uptempo beat of this track, particularly when combined with both male and female vocals. While I almost always prefer female vocals on electronica, this entire CD make me fall in love with the male vocalists (though the female vocals were flawless). Throw in the decadent "Follow My Ruin", the wistful "Beatiful Day Without You", and the soaring vocals on "What Else Is There" and I am in complete heaven. Again, great male vocals on "Follow My Ruin", totally changed my perception of how electronica/house music should be sound. The female vocals on "What Else is There" are beyond compare, though I do agree with one of the other reviewers that Cyndi Lauper somewhat comes to mind. Maybe that is why I love this song - I have seen Cyndi in concert three times and have always admired her unusual voice and unwillingness to conform. Yet, for me, this song even blows away anything she has offered. This entire album is fantastic, not a single "skip it" song in entire collection. For hardcore Melody AM fans, you will still find some atmospheric offerings that should be to your liking. The bonus CD was worth the couple extra dollars. I expect that both CDs will be in constant, heavy rotation for some time to come.

Chilled Vocal Album
The Undestanding is a great chilled vocal album, and precisely that is what makes it different from Melody am. This guys are pros, you won't be dissapointed by the vocals. This one is (i'd dare to say) an experiment from royksopp on the vocals. You'll listen a female and male vocals with nice lyrics throughout the album. In my opinion they did very well with them! Even though you might expect a less vocal album, i guarantee your satisfaction. 4 traxx on this album are rated 5stars on my media player, but the track i just can't stop listening to is 49%. It's a continuos (something like soft drum & bass) build up during those 5:12min. Excelent male vocals and very touching lyrics. Melody AM did not had as many vocals as The Understanding, keep that in mind before buying this album.

The One That Got Away
THE UNDERSTANDING is that their first brilliant album, MELODY AM, was a fluke. Either that, or they weren't able to grasp what made MELODY AM brilliant. Hopefully they will work it out before releasing their next albumn. (tip: less voice, its not your strong point)