The genre of feel-good pop songs about feeling good has a tendency to get a little too literal or on-the-nose, a trap that Robyn’s “Dopamine” never falls into. It’s her first single from what will be her first album in over seven years, following 2018’s Honey, and Robyn suggests that, in the era of phones and watches and rings that track our body’s every move, “Dopamine” is about letting some of the mystery around those good feelings remain.
“It’s almost like we don’t even accept that we’re human anymore, like we’re trying to shoot ourselves out of it and explain every single thing,” she said in a quote that accompanied the new song’s release, “which I think is great, but that’s also why the world is shit, this idea that you can figure out and win life or something.”
On “Dopamine,” which was written and produced with frequent collaborator Klas Åhlund (and which also includes a writing credit from “Dynamite” hitmaker Taio Cruz), Robyn sings of dopamine hits and “tripping on our chemistry” over a rush of dancefloor-moving synthpop that echoes her career-altering 2010 album Body Talk. It’s more of a banger than anything on the more subdued, atmospheric Honey, but it’s also not a retreat or a return to form. 30 years removed from her debut album, Robyn has long ago mastered longevity in pop and she continues to make it look easy. Her influence has been everywhere in the seven years since she last released an album, including on left-field pop stars like Charli XCX and Lorde (both of whom featured her on recent albums), and “Dopamine” feels built to steer pop music with as steady a hand as Robyn has for decades. It’s familiar, unmistakably-Robyn-style euphoria sealed with airtight freshness.
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Meanwhile, Robyn is rumored to be playing a surprise LA show next week, which would be at least her second surprise appearance in the US this year, following when she joined Gracie Abrams for “Dancing On My Own” at Lollapalooza. If the rumors are true, she would presumably make the live debut of “Dopamine” at this show, and if we’re really lucky, maybe she’ll preview more new music too.