Shiny & New Turns 2: #12 "You Know Me Better" - Róisín Murphy

"I think we waited long enough, baby / You know me only too well"

Róisín Murphy released her second solo studio album, Overpowered, in 2007, and what would now get lost in a sea of popsynthdance, at the time felt so refreshing and forward thinking. In fact on repeated listening, it still shows more scope, imagination and sense of fun than almost anything else being released today. But that's the point. At time when making predominantly synth-based music was akin to forming a Steps tribute band in terms of cool, Róisín (and Robyn) had the gall to not only not give a shit, but also long before the dreaded GaGa made her stamp on the world, without even trying, they were the true clairvoyants who ushered in a new era of pop.

The song starts with a stuttering chopped up cymbal powering into a song both melodic and sinuous, euphoric and underpinned by something sad and downbeat. When I first heard it, it made me want to strut and for a while it soundtracked my walks everywhere. I remember once asking my dad to drop me off an hour's walk away from home so I could listen to its parent album in its entirety and strut nonstop. Weird, but total bliss. It tells the age old story of friends who are considering taking the dive into something romantic, cuz they just know eachother that well. But it's not obvious or tacky and manages to steer clear of cliché entirely. It demonstrates perfectly why Róisín Murphy will be sorely missed as she takes her sabbatical from music. "You Know Me Better", with its bassline so incredible it could make the dead dance is a perfect example of why Róisín is so clever: it's spooky, humorous, danceable. It's perfect synthpop.