Icona Pop broke through U.S airwaves with their carefree, party anthem "I Love It." The single was able to reach Billboard's Hot 100 almost a year after its original release while becoming double platinum certified, and not to mention the song's countless use in television ads and feature films. The Swedish synth-pop duo hope to capitalize off the success of their first international hit with their debut album This Is...Icona Pop.
Although Icona Pop didn't hit American radio stations until late 2012, members Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo have been together since 2009. The group opens up their first album with none other than "I Love It," which features guest vocals from British recording artist Charli XCX. This song showcases everything Icona Pop is trying to get across in their music and that is to let loose and have fun. Just as the duo's name suggests, their music is purely pop centered with this one focusing on deep, gritty basslines to run over their infectious party chants of "I don't care, I love it. I don't care. I love it, I love it." As catchy as the song is, it does get quite repetitive and the whole vocal shouting technique used for the chorus may not be something everyone embraces.
If your looking for a particular track where Icona Pop slows things down and strips the electronic elements, you will be sadly disappointed. At this point, the duo prefers upbeat, dance songs instead of mellowed down versions and that is perfectly fine. They execute their style best in "Ready For the Weekend" and "We Got the World" as both of these songs deliver crowd-pleasing beats and sing-along hooks to get the party going. Icona Pop also manages to bring out some girl power in "Girlfriend," an irresistible track that attempts to define the importance of female friendship. The rest of the album is filled with similarly poppy songs that lack a certain characteristic to make them stand out.
For those who enjoy a careless, pop anthem, then Icona Pop will completely satisfy that craving, but for listeners who enjoy a little bit of variety in an album, This Is...Icona Pop may not be as fulfilling. With an ever-growing international audience, this duo has a great chance at achieving long term worldwide success, however, next time they record some songs they might want to switch it up a bit and test new waters.
Grade: C+
0 comments
Post a Comment