With a single as gargantuan as "I Love It", it's no surprise to see why Icona Pop blew up in 2013, in the thick of EDM, an era where pop was being processed through computers instead of drum machines. Its simplicity and downright catchy hook was the perfect combination to create a ear-worm with some serious staying power (and staying power is the right word; it took over a year for "I Love It" to sweep the globe). The problem with a song like "I Love It", however, is that it's too simple, the production appealing but ultimately placid. Moreover, when setting up an album, this type of song would set up "This Is..." to be just as mundane, with a couple songs that set the standard for disposable Euro-pop. So it's surprising to hear that, while there are a few songs that sound like retreads of "I Love It" (second single "All Night" is a prime example, while "We Own the World" and "Girlfriend" build upon its blueprint and expand it slightly), this debut is decidedly not one song proceeded by ten derivatives of it. Towards the end of the record, Icona Pop vary their hit-making formula with the ballads "Just Another Night" and "Hold On", both songs showcase their soulful vocals while flashing enough depth to prove that they're not just a passing fad. Other than these two tracks, the rest of "This Is..." thrives on a relentless Euro-disco, all songs are innocent enough to paint Icona Pop as just two girls having fun at a club, but their free use of profanity, not to mention their palpable sexuality (have you seen that album cover?), all reveal that their music is not for the faint of heart. Especially with their shouting choruses, epic bass drops and glitchy electronics (mostly present in the nadir "Ready for the Weekend"), "This Is..." is a DJ's set with its sights on the dance-floor and a sound set in the purest pop imaginable. No song here comes even close to the four-minute mark, so this entire enterprise comes and goes within a half-hour. Now that's not to say that it feels as short as it actually is, as the first seven songs strain to get away from "I Love It" comparisons, the back half of the record is weighed down by a crash from the high-octane first half. It's not as consistently strong as, say "Stars Dance", but what "This Is..." does well, is that it offers further proof that Icona Pop truly live up to their name.
Recommended Tracks:
1. I Love It 2.
All Night 3. We Got the
World
4. Ready for the
Weekend 5. Girlfriend 6.
In the Stars
7. On a Roll 8. Just Another Night 9. Hold On
10. Light Me Up 11.
Then We Kiss
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