"Orally Fixated" is a song by Irish singer

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

. Written by Murphy, Seiji (of

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) and FunkinEven, the track was released as a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

on 16 November 2009. On 12 November 2009, ''

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'' offered a 48-hour free download of the single on its website.

Background

When asked about the inspiration behind "Orally Fixated" in an interview with ''

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'', Murphy said:

Critical reception

"Orally Fixated" received mixed reviews from music critics. ''Entertainment Weekly'' writer Joseph Brannigan Lynch noted that the song invokes "the vaguely industrial

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vein of

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

", while adding that it "isn't as immediately grabbing as ' Let Me Know,' but Murphy is always at her best when straddling the line between moody electronics and dizzy disco choruses, which is exactly what 'Orally Fixated' does." In a review for

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, Eric Harvey wrote that Murphy and Seiji "try to simultaneously go globular and spare, Seiji filling any empty space with synth stabs and bite-size breakbeats. And, for some reason, a wanky guitar solo toward the end. The whole piece, like the ostensible double-entendre within it, feels strangely scattershot and unsatisfying, especially considering the great work they've done in the past." He also compared the song to

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph (born December 30, 1956) is an American actress and singer. Known for her performances on stage and screen, she earned acclaim for her role as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she was nomi ...

's 1984 club hit "In the Evening". Ben Baglin from ''

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'' magazine felt that musically, the song "doesn't quite hang together. The stripped-down, sassy verses sound fantastic, Murphy's vampish delivery spot-on (hearing that voice is always a treat). But then there's a sudden and jarring shift in key for the chorus, which despite being damned catchy sounds likes it's been lifted from a completely different song and hastily pasted on." Luis Tovar of Pretty Much Amazing commented that the track "sounds like typical Roisin Murphy nosh—gritty, nostalgic, and sometimes underwhelming." Karen Mason of Shout4Music.com opined that "Murphy's seductive voice gives a warmth to the cold, electronic backing track but the arrangement makes it sound more like a remix than the proper version of the record. 'Orally Fixated' will be a

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record. Some people are going to love it for its originality, but others are going to find it annoying, repetitive and strange."

Charts

References

{{Róisín Murphy 2009 singles Róisín Murphy songs Songs written by Róisín Murphy 2009 songs 2000s in Irish music nl:You Know Me Better (lied)