Robyn retakes her throne with first single in eight years, Missing U

Header photo by Mark Peckmezian.

It's hard not to enthuse about how much Robyn has influenced music over the last 20-odd years. The Swedish pop powerhouse is, after all, one of the most iconic and consistent names when it comes to the world of what I like to call 'sad bangers' - tracks that absolutely go off despite them being about topics like loneliness and destructiveness, like, for example, Robyn's masterpiece single Dancing On My Own. From Dancing On My Own to Call Your Girlfriend and With Every Heartbeat, Robyn has made this sad-banger niche her thing, combining punchy productions oozing with that Swedish Midas touch with her blazing, earworming vocals that, on her three-part Body Talk album series back in 2010, set her up as one of pop music's leading women. In the time since however, Robyn's output has only been stripped back to collaborative releases with the very good Röyksopp and La Bagatelle Magique, meaning that since 2010, we actually haven't heard a single solo single from the musician - until now.

Leading the way ahead of an extremely long-awaited new album expected out later this year, Missing U is Robyn's first single since the Body Talk era and simply put, it reminds us all why we love her so much. Reunited with long-time collaborator Klas Åhlund, Missing U oozes with that unmistakable Robyn charm that we've been missing for so long. There are the glitzy, arpeggiated synth melodies and those thick, beefed-up chords that kick underneath Robyn's bright, but undoubtedly emotive-driven vocal which, believe it or not, is again marked with a darker meaning (it's about the feelings that come when people disappear out of your life, according to a statement released with the single). While it may be a long time between drinks, Missing U essentially proves that after all this time she's still got it, and after cancelling her slot at Falls Festival a few years back, hopefully she'll bring what she has back to Australia very, very soon.

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