Robyn – Sexistential
Robyn's back with her ninth album, doing what Robyn does best – blending euphoria and melancholy to make fun, endearingly cringeworthy, luxury pop music
A lot has happened since we last heard from Robyn, and she's more than happy to bare all on album number nine. Be it breakups, parenthood or celebrity crushes, Sexistential serves as a welcome reminder of the Swedish pop icon’s ability to transform any and all life experiences into opulent pop bangers.
Robyn opens the door to the world of sexistentialism with the instantly catchy Really Real, a breakup ballad on which we hear the Swede’s trademark blend of euphoria and melancholy for the first time in eight years. To be 'sexistential', Robyn contends, is to centre feelings of sensuality and unrelenting positivity in everything one does. This upbeat message of sex-positivity courses through the veins of the nine-track project, no less so than on the album’s high-octane lead single, the lavish arena-ready Dopamine, and Talk To Me, a rallying cry for connection written during the throes of the pandemic.
On the title track Robyn raps the line: 'My body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on overdrive', before regaling the listener with tales of scrolling through exclusive celebrity dating apps while undergoing IVF treatment, and guilt-free admissions of her penchant for Adam Driver and 'juicy hentai'. The titular track shines a light up to the album as a whole – fun, endearingly cringeworthy, luxury pop music.
Listen to: Dopamine, Talk To Me, Sexistential