Icona Pop
This Is... Icona Pop
September 24 2013
Ten / Big Beat Records
7.3/10
Alex Kamens
This Is... Icona Pop
September 24 2013
Ten / Big Beat Records
7.3/10
Alex Kamens
Icona Pop is perhaps one of the most mysterious pop projects of 2013. Their single "I Love It" practically took over the world for a week or two, yet "are those the people that sing I Love It?" is still a common question. Among the music world, "can the girls extend past I Love It?" is even more prominent. With "This Is... Icona Pop," Caroline and Aino show us they can. Not far. But they can.
It's pretty obvious why the first five songs on the LP were the only five released prior to the album. I Love It, All Night, We Got The World, Ready For The Weekend, and Girlfriend are massive tracks. Girlfriend is bordering on the edge of LGBT-anthem, and the rest are just inevitably catchy. The second half of the album takes a softer approach, and it partially works. Then We Kiss is certainly a stand out, but the rest melds into a poppy goo that looks great on the outside, but tastes funny on the inside. Production wise, the entirety of "This Is... Icona Pop" is fresh and fun. Lyrically, however, the "goo" is, well, gooey. "It's in the stars, it's who we are." It doesn't play quite as bad as it reads, but it doesn't play as well as you're expecting it to. The girls of IP are semi-convincing - half of me wants to join their seemingly endless nights of teenage riot, while the other half is watching, thinking "what in the hell are those idiots doing?" The cheesy parts of the album do become more fun with continuous listens, but just barely not fun enough.
If "This Is... Icona Pop" were a group of minors trying to manage their way into a club, half of them would be accepted without question, while the other half would be sent away after deep consideration - not downed enough to lose their enthusiasm, but enough to put them in a melancholy happiness and send them home for the night.
It's pretty obvious why the first five songs on the LP were the only five released prior to the album. I Love It, All Night, We Got The World, Ready For The Weekend, and Girlfriend are massive tracks. Girlfriend is bordering on the edge of LGBT-anthem, and the rest are just inevitably catchy. The second half of the album takes a softer approach, and it partially works. Then We Kiss is certainly a stand out, but the rest melds into a poppy goo that looks great on the outside, but tastes funny on the inside. Production wise, the entirety of "This Is... Icona Pop" is fresh and fun. Lyrically, however, the "goo" is, well, gooey. "It's in the stars, it's who we are." It doesn't play quite as bad as it reads, but it doesn't play as well as you're expecting it to. The girls of IP are semi-convincing - half of me wants to join their seemingly endless nights of teenage riot, while the other half is watching, thinking "what in the hell are those idiots doing?" The cheesy parts of the album do become more fun with continuous listens, but just barely not fun enough.
If "This Is... Icona Pop" were a group of minors trying to manage their way into a club, half of them would be accepted without question, while the other half would be sent away after deep consideration - not downed enough to lose their enthusiasm, but enough to put them in a melancholy happiness and send them home for the night.
