Ö

Songs topple over each other as if in competition to be the first to set off the dizziest of highs. Fcukers are a vibe, and they know it. The hype may have brought us to the door, but the music is why we’re staying for the afterparty.

‘Ö’ is fast-acting and short-lived, and there is a temptation to wonder how well, in the long-term, it will hold up to repeat listens. To dwell on that, though, would be to misunderstand an album that is about feeling, rather than thinking.

Ö is noticeably more polished than the singles with which they attracted so much attention but still summons an appealingly seamy mood.

These songs manage to uphold expectations while taking baby steps towards something the duo can call their own. The tracklist comes together like a long DJ set, ensuring bodies are moving all around while painstakingly crafting a consistency that is noticeable from the jump.

Ö is a raw, natural celebration of that trust. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s exactly what’s needed heading into summer.

A swift album that’ll prove difficult to grow tired of.

Altogether, Ö feels like candy: addictive, sweet, glossy; the ultimate sugar rush. While it remains to be seen if there's a crash coming, Fcukers are undeniably the life of the party.

If Ö sometimes sounds bored with itself anyway, it’s probably because Fcukers’ instincts are ultimately a variation on the nostalgia-baiting Y2K and bloghouse revivalism that surrounds them. It’s a simulacra of a simpler, grungier, more innocent time before high-speed internet, now wearing a tracksuit. Still: The fun is dumb and the night is young.

Listening to Ö feels active and passive at the same time, the kind of record that doesn’t ask much of you beyond being present in the moment.

They’re a nostalgia trip of intertextual references. Ö will no doubt frustrate some, and delight many others. It is, after all, just a ride that doesn’t need to be taken too seriously.