Review: All Good Things Must End

Norwegian duo Röyksopp have always stayed ahead of the curve with their innovative electro-pop. Soon they’ll be doing the same with how they release it. Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland aren’t retiring, but they are swearing off traditional albums after dropping their fifth and final LP, aptly titled The Inevitable End, on Nov. 10. After that, it’s all singles and small batches of songs.

Perhaps they were inspired by pop pixie and fellow Scandinavian Robyn–no stranger to unusual releases herself–with whom they released the experimental Do It Again minialbum in May. Or perhaps, as the duo have suggested, they’ve simply said all they needed to say in full-length recordings. That starts to show on The Inevitable End, which alternates between the club-banging exuberance of 2009’s Junior and the chilled-out ambience of 2010’s Senior. While a handful of sinister stompers (like “Skulls,” a perfect anthem for video-game villains) are as fresh as ever, a somewhat lagging second half keeps the record from becoming the true parting gift that the band intended.

–NOLAN FEENEY