Róisín Murphy kept fans waiting nearly a decade for new music when Hairless Toys arrived in 2015, which made the release of Take Her Up to Monto just over a year later all the more surprising.
While many artists might coast for a while after releasing a comeback album, this is the kind of unexpected move that's quintessentially Murphy.
Recorded during the same five-week sessions that resulted in Hairless Toys, Take Her Up to Monto often feels like that album's counterpart.
"Mastermind," a disco epic that feels as vast as a galaxy, evokes Toys' massive, shape-shifting songs (as well as Murphy's 2012 marathon single "Simulation") in its sheer scope.
And while "Whatever" may be the shortest song here, it shares the intimacy that made her previous album so striking.
But where Hairless Toys was a seamless journey, this is a wilder ride.
Murphy takes her listeners in different directions with little warning; "Thoughts Wasted," which morphs from sleek to lush to lamenting, feels like a microcosm of the album.
Fortunately, Take Her Up to Monto is always engaging, even as she takes her signature sounds to extremes.
The teasing, flamboyant sensuality of "Pretty Gardens" and whimsical electro-bossa nova of "Lip Service" hark back to her playful Moloko and Ruby Blue days, though her more understated vocals strike a different balance with the theatrical music than they did back in the day.
She contrasts Monto's brassier moments with the much quieter but just as expressive "Nervous Sleep," a dreamy yet unsettled track that captures middle-of-the-night anxiety perfectly, and "Sitting and Counting," a meditation on love so whispery, it sounds like Murphy is singing it to herself.
Even on more dynamic songs like "Ten Miles High," Take Her Up to Monto continues the more personal feel of her post-Mi Senti music (the album title even references the Dubliners hit that her father used to sing to her).
As pop has become more eclectic, so has Murphy; even if it takes a little more effort to follow her on Monto, the results are worth it.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MastermindRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 06:35 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Pretty GardensRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 05:07 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Thoughts WastedRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 05:22 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Lip ServiceRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 04:27 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Ten Miles HighRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 05:19 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | WhateverRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 02:54 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Romantic ComedyRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 05:36 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Nervous SleepRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 07:41 | 18 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Sitting and CountingRóisín Murphy, Eddie Stevens | Róisín Murphy | Play | 03:57 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 47 mins | 118 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Allaway | Engineer |
| 2 | Ian Anderson | Art Direction, Design |
| 3 | Dave DeRose | Drums, Floor Tom |
| 4 | Rhianna Kenny | Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Katie Lambert | Producer |
| 6 | Jamie McCreddie | Guitar |
| 7 | Ally McNeil | Programming |
| 8 | Rob Mullarkey | Bass |
| 9 | Róisín Murphy | Art Direction, Composer, Concept, Design, Direction, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Jodie Scantlebury | Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Eddie Stevens | Composer, Floor Tom, Flute, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Programming, Violin, Vocals |
| 12 | Darius Van Helfteren | Mastering |
| 13 | Ben Wearing | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |