"You Know Me Better" is a song by Irish singer

Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, she em ...

from her second studio album, ''

Overpowered ''Overpowered'' is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy. It was released on 15 October 2007 by EMI Records. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its predece ...

'' (2007). It was written by Murphy and

Andy Cato Andrew Derek Cocup Sr. (born 7 June 1973), known professionally as Andy Cato, is an English musician, record producer and DJ who is currently one half of the electronic music band Groove Armada, the other half being Tom Findlay. He was also inv ...

and produced by Cato, with additional production by Ill Factor. The song was released on 31 March 2008 as the album's third single.

Single cover

The photoshoot of the single artwork can be viewed on her official website and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel as of 4 January 2008. The art director of the single was British graphic designer Scott King and the photographer was Jonathan de Villiers. The cover depicts Murphy wearing an outfit by

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

Critical reception

"You Know Me Better" was well received by music critics.

Peter Paphides Peter Paphides (born 1969 as Panayiotakis Paphides or Panayiotis Paphides) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Early life Paphides was born in Birmingham to a Greek Cypriot father, Chris, and a Greek mother, Victoria. He has an elder broth ...

of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the song as "a rush of colour slowly surging outwards from a hook of pared-back austerity." Alex Fletcher of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

gave the song four out of five stars, saying producer Andy Cato "lay down a squelching disco groove that veers between early 1990s

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and the sound of New Order's ' Blue Monday' being fiddled with by

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

. A typically sultry Murphy more than rises to the occasion, delivering the crisp, soothing vocals that earned

Moloko Moloko () were an Irish-English electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their UK top 10 sin ...

a flash of chart success at the start of the decade." Jax Spike of

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noted that the song "is a more up-tempo track that comes across as pure enchanted bliss with its tough,

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

vocal and conventional, insistent chorus concealing a quite complex emotional position." Ben Hogwood of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

, stated, "In some way that pushes it closer to a

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of whic ...

guest slot, but Murphy's vocals are strong enough to pull it back, a slice of electro-disco that may be polished within an inch of its life, but comes back for more with its yearning melody." Cpt H.M. 'Howling Mad' Murdock of

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

commented that the track "mirrors

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...

's recent chart achievements in icy cool style."

Music video

The music video for "You Know Me Better" was directed by Canadian director Jaron Albertin and shot at a suburban home in

Snaresbrook Snaresbrook is a district of East London in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located 8 miles east of Charing Cross. The name derives from a corruption of Sayers brook, a tributary of the River Roding that flows through Wanstead to the E ...

, North East London. The video premiered on 11 March 2008 and features Murphy at different places in the house playing different characters, each one wearing a different outfit and hairstyle, inspired by the women depicted in the ''Untitled Film Stills'' series by American photographer

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

Track listings

*;UK CD 1 #"You Know Me Better" (Radio Edit) – 3:50 #"Keep It Loose" – 3:26 *;UK CD 2 #"You Know Me Better" (Album Version) – 4:17 #"Pandora" – 3:56 #"You Know Me Better" (Guy Williams Vocal) – 7:09 #"You Know Me Better" (

Toddla T Thomas Mackenzie Bell (born 22 February 1985), better known by the stage name of Toddla T, is an English DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Biography Bell was raised in Sheffield where he attended Ki ...

Mix) – 3:07 *;UK 7" single :A. "You Know Me Better" (Radio Edit) – 3:50 :B. "Pandora" – 3:56 *;UK double 12" single :A1. "You Know Me Better" (Album Version) :A2. "You Know Me Better" (Trevor Loveys Vocal) :B1. "You Know Me Better" (Guy Williams Vocal) :B2. "You Know Me Better" (Samim Remix) :C1. "You Know Me Better" (Album Instrumental) :C2. "You Know Me Better" (Nightmoves Mix) :D1. "You Know Me Better" (Trevor Loveys Dub) :D2. "You Know Me Better" (Guy Williams Dub) *;Digital single – Live at Koko #"You Know Me Better" (Live at Koko) – 7:30 *;Digital single – Samim Remix #"You Know Me Better" (Samim Remix) – 6:02 *;Digital single – Andy Cato Alternative Mix #"You Know Me Better" (Andy Cato Alternative Mix) - 3:55 *;Digital EP 1 #"You Know Me Better" (Radio Edit) – 3:42 #"Keep It Loose" – 3:34 #"Pandora" – 3:56 *;Digital EP 2 #"You Know Me Better" (Album Version) – 4:17 #"You Know Me Better" (

Vocal) – 3:07 #"You Know Me Better" (Guy Williams Dub) – 6:22 #"You Know Me Better" (Trevor Loveys Dub) – 5:16 *;Digital EP 3 #"You Know Me Better" (Album Version) – 4:17 #"You Know Me Better" (Guy Williams Vocal) – 7:07 #"You Know Me Better" (Trevor Loveys Vocal) – 7:02 #"You Know Me Better" (Nightmoves Mix) – 8:48

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single. *

– vocals, songwriting * Dick Beetham – editing *

– engineering, instruments, production, songwriting * Ill Factor – additional production * Scott King – art direction, design *

Eric Kupper Eric Kupper is an American keyboardist, arranger, songwriter, remix artist, DJ, and record producer of French descent. Biography Eric Kupper began playing in bands in his formative years, and got his real start in the mid-1980s working as a keybo ...

– mixing * Jonathan de Villiers – photography

Charts

References

External links

* {{Róisín Murphy 2007 songs 2008 singles EMI Records singles Róisín Murphy songs Songs written by Andy Cato Songs written by Róisín Murphy