We’ve been waiting for an official release from Stockholm duo Icona Pop for most of the year after initial digital single ‘Manners’ kicked up a shitstorm of much deserved attention back in March. It’s fairly standard for Sweden to produce consistently great – pull no punches – pop music; it’s what they’re famous for after all. Where 2011 is concerned though, it’s quite interesting that the pop output has mainly been from strong minded females. Regular readers will be more than familiar with the euphoric weirdness of Niki and the Dove; 16-year-old Amanda Mair is causing ripples in all the right places with her intelligent 80s tinged mini epics whilst Lykke Li has taken the dark-and-gloomy adult pop to the next level with this year’s Wounded Rhymes LP. A common thread throughout is that these artists all seem to carry a “don’t fuck with us” attitude that belies musical output or style.
Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo have produced what might just be the surprise mainstream cross-over of the year with debut EP Nights Like This. Certainly, the fact that they’ve signed with Mercury Records here in the UK points to a future of Radio 1 playlists and HEAT magazine ‘scoops’. It’s the music that matters though and thank the lord, it’s just as instantly rewarding as those initial glimpses we had back in Spring. ‘Sun Goes Down’ is the closing track on the EP and perhaps the most curious of its four songs. Like a steroid-induced Ace Of Base, fuelled by late nights in dingy Södermalm nightclubs – throbbing bass pulsating around every nook and cranny – there are two extremes on display. The cold, almost synthetic nature of the instrumentation that is made altogether human by the chanting, simplistic lyrics: “I’ll be waiting for you until the sun goes down”. Devilishly romantic, ridiculously sexy. For now at least, say hello to the new queens of pop.
Icona Pop – Sun Goes Down (ft. The Knocks)
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