Good Karma

The album features production contributions from Swedish duo Addeboy vs. Cliff, with whom the duo had collaborated on a 2015 remix of "The Look". Roxette songwriter Per Gessle said he sought to integrate an additional musician or collaborator into every album he released, explaining this was done "just to make everyone – myself included – stand on our toes. I always welcome change if it's [for] the right reason." He noted in the case of Good Karma that "new blood definitely needed to be injected everywhere", but said the album would be produced by him alongside regular contributors Clarence Öfwerman and Christoffer Lundquist in order to retain control of the project.[1] "The Look (2015 Remake)" was used by a Swedish fashion company in a prominent advertising campaign in the autumn of 2015, with Gessle saying the band was collaborating with numerous producers and remixers,[2] indicating a new single would be released before the end of the year.[1] A remix of new Roxette track "Some Other Summer" – created by French producer Sebastien Drums – was released on 6 November along with a music video.[3][4]

Per Gessle (left) and Marie Fredriksson (right) in 2014, celebrating the 25th anniversary of "The Look" topping the Billboard Hot 100.

Gessle said he wanted Good Karma to sound like a modern pop album, albeit one that "leaned towards the classic Roxette tradition,"[5] elaborating: "We wanted to combine our classic Roxette sound with a modern and slightly unpredictable production to create a soundscape where you would both recognise our sound and find something new."[6] The album is more electronic than previous releases. Gessle said he began work on the album knowing the material would never be performed live, a situation he found inspiring, as he could create elaborate electronic tracks in the studio instead of focusing on how the songs would translate to a live, guitar-orientated setting.[7] Vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in 2002 made it difficult for her to memorise the lyrics to new songs, so set lists for "The Neverending World Tour" consisted primarily of the duo's greatest hits.[8]

The album was recorded over a period of nearly two years; Gessle said recording was frequently disrupted by the group's touring schedule.[7] Unlike previous albums Charm School (2011) and Travelling (2012) – which both contained re-recordings of previously unreleased tracks – Gessle confirmed every song on Good Karma was written specifically for the album, saying it became a "more cohesive production" as a result.[5] Despite this, album closer "April Clouds" is based on the lyric to "Wish You the Best", a song from Gessle's 1997 solo album The World According to Gessle.[9][10] Two outtakes from Good Karma were issued as singles from Roxette's 2020 compilation Bag of Trix—"Let Your Heart Dance with Me" and "Piece of Cake".[11][12]

"It Just Happens" was released as the lead single from Good Karma on 8 April 2016, the duo's first release under a new deal signed with Warner Music Group.[6] Its music video was directed by Tobias Leo Nordquist and released on 18 May.[13] The cover artwork for the album and its singles were designed to mimic the imagery of a butterfly.[14] Good Karma was issued on multiple formats on 3 June,[15] including a limited edition translucent orange-coloured vinyl,[16] as the band's final studio album.[17] The release was timed to coincide with the scheduled opening concert of the final leg of "The Neverending World Tour", which was cancelled after Fredriksson was advised by her doctors to stop touring due to poor health.[18] Marie sent a thank you message to fans for their kind wishes, in which she said: "Sadly, now my touring days are over and I want to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful fans that [have] followed us on our long and winding journey."[19] She died in 2019 due to complications stemming from her brain tumour diagnosis in 2002.[20][21]

An EP for the album's second single, "Some Other Summer", was released on 17 June 2016.[22] An official music video was not created for this version of the song; instead a lyric video was uploaded to YouTube on 29 June.[23] A fan-made video for the track became a viral hit after Gessle shared it via Roxette's official social media accounts.[24][25] The video proved controversial in eastern Europe, with the couple who created it receiving death threats.[26][27] An Addeboy vs. Cliff remix of "Why Don't You Bring Me Flowers?" was released as the third and final single from the album on 4 November.[28] A music video for the song was created using footage uploaded by fans to Roxette's official website as part of a contest.[29][30] The video was inspired by and contained footage from the Polish couple who created the video to "Some Other Summer".[31] Marie and Per expressed regret over the "wave of criticism" the couple received in their native Poland.[32]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Aftonbladet	[33]
AllMusic	[34]
Expressen	[5]
Gaffa	[35]
Göteborgs-Posten	[36]
laut.de	[37]
Renowned for Sound	[38]
The Music	[39]
Stuff	[40]
Upsala Nya Tidning	[41]

The album received mostly positive reviews. A writer for Upsala Nya Tidning praised the production, which they said contained "a certain retro feeling ... but also the ethereal and dreamy sound of some of Gessle's solo records (with echoes of Cocteau Twins)." They complimented it for containing "smart choruses and nice details from pop history", before concluding that if Good Karma was their final record, Roxette were ending with "their flag flying high."[41] Renowned for Sound gave a glowing review, saying it contained some of the best material Roxette released in the latter part of their career.[38] Cryptic Rock described it as the "perfect album" to celebrate the duo's thirtieth anniversary, rating it four stars out of five,[15] while The Music praised Gessle's songwriting for an abundance of hooks.[39]

German news site Mittelbayerische Zeitung rated the album "impressive", praising "Why Dontcha?" and "From a Distance",[42] while laut.de said "Good Karma isn't a record that will change the pop world, but a solid nod to the past", elaborating: "Marie and Per pop their way through their own archive quite solidly". Despite this, they said "A little less synthetics in the sound would have done the album good. But by and large, Roxette still sound like Roxette in 2016."[37] Similarly, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic complimented the album for an increase in tempo as compared to the rest of their later work, but said on Good Karma the band "deliberately excise the fizziness that fueled their big hits all in a conscious attempt to play toward their middle age. In that regard, Good Karma is a success—it's a mature Roxette album that doesn't disavow their past—but it's hard not to miss the bubblegum Euro style of Look Sharp!"[34]

The record received some mixed reviews as well. Dagens Nyheter said Gessle and the producers sought to appeal too much to young electronic pop fans, "with digital loops, EDM beats, autotune voice and rave synths." They additionally complained Fredriksson did not contribute vocals to more songs.[43] Gaffa argued Roxette initially found success as a result of their songwriting talent, and criticized the amount of producers credited, saying: "More people than usual are involved, and Good Karma is obviously coloured by today's pop and dance music. Gone are all the interesting distorted guitars and drums, replaced by new elements such as electronic beats, autotune/vocoder and similar unbecoming ingredients." Despite this, they praised Fredriksson's performance, and said the album would have sounded better with more organic instrumentation.[35] Stuff said Good Karma plays like a "jumbled archive of pop music from the '80s, '90s and '00s, jam-packed with as many different pop trends as possible", but went on to compliment Fredriksson's vocals, saying her voice was at times reminiscent of her performance on "It Must Have Been Love". They described "April Clouds" as "the most emotionally invested" song on the record.[40]

Although Göteborgs-Posten also gave the record a mixed review, they too praised Fredriksson's performance, saying the album was best when "the tempo slows down and Marie takes center-stage. And so it has been really throughout all these years. Without Marie's sensitive yet strong vocals, Roxette would just be the guy from Gyllene Tider who writes lazy English lyrics." They dubbed "April Clouds" the "finest" track on the album, describing it as a song which "in perfect balance manages to combine Per and Marie's love for the early American and Swedish 70's sound that made Roxette something out of the ordinary [in the first place]. Calm, quiet and dignified, Marie sings to all the fans: 'It's been a good time, the best there ever was for me...', and then the very last line: 'I wish you the best.' The same to you, Per and Marie. The same to you."[36] Other publications that commented on "April Clouds" included Expressen, which dubbed it one of the album's best tracks,[5] while Sweden's biggest newspaper Aftonbladet said the song would act as a "beautiful goodbye" should this be their final record.[33]

The album was a commercial success upon release, debuting atop the Czech Albums Chart as their first number one in the country since Charm School in 2011.[44] The record peaked at number two in Switzerland and the duo's native Sweden, held off the top spot in both countries by Volbeat's Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie.[45][46] It also made the top ten in Austria, Hungary, and Spain.[47][48][49] In Germany, Good Karma debuted at number eleven, making it their first studio album since their international breakthrough in 1989 to peak outside the top ten of the German Albums Chart.[50] The album performed poorly in Denmark, where it debuted at number 52 with sales of just 168 copies.[51]

Good Karma became the first Roxette studio album to enter the top 100 in the United Kingdom since 1999's Have a Nice Day, debuting at number 61 on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 1,682 copies.[52] It peaked even higher on the Scottish Albums Chart, where it debuted at number 44.[53] In Australia, the album entered and peaked at number 25, the duo's highest placement there for a studio album since Crash! Boom! Bang! in 1994.[54]

All lyrics are written by Per Gessle; all music is composed by Gessle, except where noted.

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies backing track production
• ^{^[b]} signifies a co-producer

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Good Karma.[16]

• Roxette are Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle.
• Recorded at Tits & Ass Studio in Halmstad; The Aerosol Grey Machine in Vallarum, Scania; Studio Vinden in Djursholm and GB17 in Täby.
• Mastered by Björn Engelmann at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm.

Musicians and technical personnel

• Addeboy vs. Cliff – engineering (at GB17), programming and production (tracks 5, 6, 9 and 10 only)
• Emmelie Åslin – photography
• Marie Dimberg – management
• Viktor Flumé – photography
• Wickholm Formavd – design
• Marie Fredriksson – lead and background vocals
• Per Gessle – lead and background vocals and production
• Christoffer Lundquist – background vocals, engineering (at Aerosol Grey Machine and Studio Vinden), programming, production and mixing
• Helena Josefsson – background vocals
• Clarence Öfwerman – production
• Mats "M.P." Persson – engineering (at Tits & Ass Studio)