One of my great shames of 2011 is that I never did post about Roxette‘s new album, Charm School. The duo’s eighth studio set (their first in a decade) was released a year ago tomorrow, though it wasn’t until July that the album was available here digitally. An expanded edition, Charm School Revisited, tacking on demo versions and remixes, arrived at the end of November. Some of it was too ’60s for me, but a pair of tracks, the ballad “Speak To Me,” and the stonking pop of “Big Black Cadillac,” recaptured the old Roxette magic.

As the most successful Swedish act since ABBA, Roxette’s in a tough spot. Any new material will always be measured against the string of strong singles from their chart heyday. One need only listen to their first greatest hits compilation, the brilliantly titled Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus!, for evidence of the high bar they set for themselves.

Big right out of the box, Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson hit like a hammer with first single, “The Look.” Debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 11, 1989, the song would become the first of four number ones for the duo:

Roxette are currently prepping a new album, Travelling. Billed as a sequel to 1992’s Tourism, with which it shares a subtitle — Songs From Studios, Stages, Hotelrooms [sic] & Other Strange Places — Travelling will feature 15 tracks, nine of them brand new.

Purchase Roxette – “The Look” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.