Album Review: Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun
2 min read
Zara Larsson’s rise from teenage Swedish talent show winner to global pop star was driven by bold ambition – and Midnight Sun is meant to be no exception. Written during a rare break from touring, much of the album took shape on late-night writing retreats in the Swedish countryside, where Larsson says she rediscovered the joy of making music purely for herself. Released via Epic Records, it’s her fifth studio album and one that looks to reflect a more introspective, playful side of the singer. In an album that is meant to be packed with personal reflections, so let’s see how that translates into the audio…
Kicking off with title track Midnight Sun, and, for me, it’s her strongest offering – a poppy plucky drum and bass hi-hat and bass, using the consecutive 24-hour periods of sunlight that the Swede no doubt experienced in her homeland. Blue Moon continues the plucky instrumentation, this time the track was a bit more chart house, while the beginning of Pretty Ugly started with shouting (a la Hollaback Girl), and Girl’s Girl feels a little slower in tempo, and to be honest, a bit dated – at this point it starts to feel a bit samey.
Crush up next – clearly one of the better tracks… better instrumentation and a better hook, but as per the previous tracks it does somewhat lack in substance. Sadly, Eurosummer returns to giving me 15 year old euro pop vibes, which maybe is the point of the track, while both Hot & Sexy and The Ambition definitely continued the late 2000’s/early 2010’s kind of vibe. Penultimate track Saturn’s Return stood out for being different – a slower tempo, and honestly that alone made it one of the better tracks on the album, whilst Puss Puss definitely gave me Kei$ha vibes.
I think it’s obvious that I wasn’t a huge fan of Midnight Sun, the production and instrumentation felt dated and a bit tinny, whilst the whole vague/random dance beats with lyrics over the top didn’t do it for me, all felt like an album lacking in real substance and quality. I don’t love giving negative reviews, and to be fair, if I was reviewing an EP of Midnight Sun, Crush and Saturn’s Return, I’d say it wasn’t really for me, but nonetheless decent/good tracks, but the otherwise “Midnight Sun” as an album was not up to scratch for a seasoned artist – thumbs down from me (sorry Zara).
