Album Review: Loreen – Wildfire
3 min read
Few artists can claim the kind of instant, continent-wide recognition that Loreen commands. Representing Sweden, she first conquered Eurovision in 2012, winning with the now-iconic Euphoria, before returning in 2023 to do the impossible and win again with Tattoo — becoming the first female to win Eurovision twice. Since then, she has built a career on dramatic, emotionally charged pop that impressively feels both intimate and arena-sized at the same time. Wildfire, released via Universal, is her fourth studio album and feels like a fitting title for an artist that thrives on intensity. After years of international touring and the weight of expectation that comes with being a Eurovision icon, this record lands, hoping to be another home run chapter in a career of continually evolving home runs – let’s dive right in.
Where Do We Go from Here starts with an atmospheric, moody build up that doesn’t really progress where I’d want it to (and there’s some very niche wailing points interspersed throughout that don’t resonate with me), but Feels Like Heaven is polar opposite – well written (by Sia) lyrics, great bassline and synth use, at a good middle tempo … a very well-constructed track which showcases the best of Loreen’s vocals. Weapons takes us down a very jungly drum and bass avenue (which I’m into), whereas Is It Love is more stripped back, with Loreen embracing the music of her North African roots with a distinct air of authenticity and a minor hypnotic quality. Back to club land with Can’t Pull Me Down with a very dubstep feel to the track – the synth arrangement is very well curated, though I don’t think this meshes perfectly with her vocals – for me a weird match, though there is nothing wrong per se, and for me this is further highlighted by the short deep house track Melt, which is a perfect fit (though it should have gone on for minutes longer), and title track Wildfire keeps the deep house tempo and drum/synth set up, though it’s toned down and less in your face – but still, I think this is the perfect house style for her vocals.
Coming Close is an emotional juggernaut and has to be up there as the best on the album– a very mature, atmospheric mid temp dance track. Set Me Free is in a tough spot to follow, and TBH feels a bit ‘charty’, it’s well produced, but (for me) a bit predictable and bland (when compared to the previous track), while Eurovision winner Tattoo is everything you’d expect from the competition. Lose That Light features 6lack and is very much the slow acoustic sad serious track of the album – it’s well made but I guess I wasn’t in the right mood for it after all the prior bangers, which is a word I’d use for second dnb track of the album Kiss the Sky, less jungle and more dnb this time… which is put together well and is a good fit for her vocals. Finally we have True Love which has more of an old school Heal era Loreen feel to it – I will say no more than it should probably be her next single release!!
Wildfire is a fantastic album from someone who can now be seen as a seasoned artist of the highest standard, Loreen mixes up genres well, keeping it from being samey but at the same time the album (in the main) doesn’t feel disjointed. Being a seasoned dnb head, I’d normally gravitate to Weapons and Kiss the Sky, though I feel her voice is a better fit to the deep house tracks, and can easily see various remixes of her tracks played in the clubs of London, and beyond. I’m not going to lie – I had somewhat a preconceived notion of what a (double) Eurovision winners album was going to be, and I’m happy to admit that I was extremely wrong! So if you’re like me – don’t just poo-poo it out of hand – give it a try… you might find more than expected and get more than you bargained for!!
