Three Opinions For Robots In Love

The brainchild of Elenor Rayner, Robots In Love, was not a project that was formed overnight. No, it is one that has been cultivated throughout a career in electronic music. The now New Zealand-based artist formerly inhabited Melbourne, Australia where she became best known as one-half of The Crystalline Effect alongside SHIV-R's Pete Crane. While she wasn't attending those duties, she also found herself as part of the legendary Snog and Soulscraper. She's also recorded under a different solo name Sobriquet Nation, has toured the world, has credits on more than fifty albums, and has has been named “up and coming artist of the month” by Rolling Stone Magazine and “artist of the month” by Juice Magazine. To say the very least, Rayner has been busy. 

This is where her other solo project, Robots In Love, comes into play. Recently, Rayner has stepped back into Robots In Love's shoes in full force. Throughout the month of March she has released two singles as well as a remix. Robots In Love is best described by how it was formed: Rayner met an Atari computer and creates what she describes as music you "can cry and dance [to] at the same time." 

The first of these singles, 'The Ravens', was released on March 15th, 2022. Described simply as a "dark dancefloor, dark mood" kind of song, 'The Ravens' definitely has a stomp-worthy vibe. With a bassline suited for the likes of EBM 'The Ravens' comes off as a hard dancefloor killer. She leaves in room for breaks where the experimental music can kick in and samples reign supreme. I do wish that the bassline would have changed tempo rather than volume / effects a bit more throughout the track, but it's still a damned good time. 7/10.



The second single that came from Robots In Love's March music mayhem is 'Wish'. Immediately I reminisced the likes of IDM with the bonkers texture work. However, I don't ever feel as if 'Wish' is a complete song. There's a lack of fullness, of professional mixing and mastering that I would otherwise expect from a producer of Rayner's caliber. Often times, when I came back to this song I felt as if it were more of a demo than a completely finished and polished track from Robots In Love. Nonetheless, I did appreciate the very whacky yet chill atmosphere that Rayner presents on 'Wish'. 6/10



The final song that Rayner worked on under Robots In Love's belt is 'Good Cocaine (Robots In Love Remix)'. Originally written and produced by Swedish pop singer JA/VI, the canon version is a slow pop ballad. It's a sensual pop single discussing a bad relationship. Robots In Love takes the relatively slow pace and evolves it into what I can consider an industrial pop single. JA/VI's vocals are practically untouched, and Rayner adds in a thumping rhythm with a crunchy industrial edge. Obviously, this is the version that I prefer considering I'm into the rougher side of electronics. So, two thumbs up to Rayner for a damn good job. 7.5/10.



Robots In Love's recent March schedule is a delight for the most part. Her original single 'The Ravens' is sure to get the attention of dancefloors and her remix of JA/VI's 'Good Cocaine' is quite good. In fact, the remix is so good that without JA/VI's vocals, I would have thought it was a completely different song. I wasn't a huge fan of 'Wish' for the reasons stated above, but even through the slosh I can see how it has the potential to be a damned good single. I am unsure as to what's next for Robots In Love, but if Rayner continues down this path I'll enthusiastically return to her music. 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.