Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Agnes- Dance Love Pop Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Dance Love Pop

Artist- Agnes

Swedish pop singer Agnes has been in the music industry since 2005 after winning that year of the Swedish version of Pop Idol. Yet the singer really became a major success in 2009 with the release of her hit single ‘Release Me’ that has sold over 900,000 copies worldwide. Yet the whilst the singer had the odd follow up hit in certain territories, her star has seemingly gone back to her original pop status, as she only seems to be gaining commercial success in her native country Sweden. Yet based on her proper internationally released album that saw her come back to the music stage, is this actually an artist that deserves to be much bigger than she is in terms of success?

Track 1- Release Me

Agnes’ biggest hit to date, Release Me is a vibrant dance pop tune that finds the singer blending heartfelt and emotional lyrics and vocals with a get yourself on the dance floor now sound. Lyrically the track finds the singer wishing her lover to set her free as she knows the relationship isn’t right, but she still wants and loves him and so can’t set herself free. The heartbreak but almost hopeful lyrical content gives the song a commanding presence in that in just focusing on the lyrics alone you could have easily taken this song to be a ballad. Agnes gives us a smooth and powerful vocal performance that is better than other dance pop songs in that it has this glamorous and classy quality, with the singer’s voice having an airy tone in the chorus through the use of vocal layering that makes things very appealing and catchy. The production features this vibrant blend of a heavy bass, stirring strings and great dance beats that just gives the song a polished but fun quality that will get you wanting to sing along and dance along, and so whilst this is in many ways a typical dance pop tune, the songs different elements really come together to create a glamorous, emotional and fun track that is a deserved worldwide hit.

4/5

Track 2- On and On

On and On was the albums lead single in Sweden and finds the singer once again getting us on the dance floor, but this time she is in a much happier frame of mind. The lyrics of the song find the singer focusing on the idea of how the world is a crazy place but you can cope with love, and she tells this guy that she really loves him and her love will continue forever. The song is lyrically sweet and structured well, with a catchy chorus that is made even better by Agnes’ smooth vocals that are full of energy and conveys this sense of love very nicely. However the problem for me with this track is that the production lets it down, as the dance beats are vibrant with this steady back beat, but the song doesn’t have that quality sheen of the previous track, and so if possible listen to the UK edit of this song, has that features a slightly different sound which is much better.

3.5/5

Track 3- Love Me Senseless

Love Me Senseless as more of a fine tuned dance sound that sounds better than the previous track. Here we find the singer once again in another loved up state as she asks her man to love her senseless, because he is like a dream to her. The lyrics are slightly clichéd but the singer light vocal tone makes things feel less clichéd and more believable, with the middle section nicely showing off both the fragility and the power of her voice very powerfully. The song once again blends prominent dance rhythms with stirring strings, and the club beat that acts as the backbone of the track makes this feel like a forceful but euphoric number, and so this song lacks originality but is fun and vibrant enough to be a nice dance song.

3.5/5

Track 4- How Do You Know

Based around a ‘da da do da’ hook, How Do You Know is more of a straightforward pop song with a slight bubble gum pop edge. The song finds the singer lyrically and vocally in more of a delicate frame of mind, as she is scared of life and doesn’t understand the idea of love, and questions how you can know if you are really in love. The songs message offers a nice change of pace in the record, but the chorus feels to repetitive, and at times the singer can come across as a bit of a whiny girl. The vocal performance is light and fragile and so feels very in tune with the lyrical content, although the breathy quality of the background vocals feels a bit too unoriginal. Production wise the song features simple guitar strumming and snappy pop beats that gives this airy sound to the track that makes this a chilled tune, but it doesn’t excite you in the way the first few tracks really did.

2.5/5

Track 5- I Need You Now

Things are taken down to a softer and musically organic state with this mid tempo pop ballad that finds the singer going back to this state of being powerfully in love. Here we find Agnes telling her lover how much she needs and wants him, with the singer giving us a soft vocal performance that is layered with this sweet but also pleading, emotional tone. The track utilises a mixture of strings and simple guitar strumming to give the song this potent edge, and so this is a nice track that shows a different side to Agnes, and it is a shame that this song had to be remixed into a dance format for the UK release.

3.5/5

Track 6- Look at Me Now

We are taken back to an up tempo dance state of mind with this track that finds the singer firmly moving on from a relationship. Lyrically the track is based in the idea of this relationship ending where Agnes gave her all to this man, but now things have ended she is doing great and this guy should just look at her, as he thought she would be a wreck.  The positivity of the song is infectious, but overall the lyrics don’t feel like anything we haven’t heard from other artists. This is perhaps because although the vocals are powerful and emphasise the freedom aspect of the lyrics, the vocals don’t have the forceful quality that is really need for this to be a really great break up anthem. The production features slightly more of Euro pop sound with the dance beat, and the track also has these hand clapping rhythms that make the song feel a little unique. It is a nice dance song, just not that original.

2.5/5

Track 7- Don’t Pull Your Love Out

Don’t Pull Your Love Out has a slight dance hall feel with the production, and finds the singer giving us another love based tune that offers a look at a different type of relationship. The singer asks her lover not to pull his love out and give up on the relationship, as she just wants to love him and knows they will be great together, as she believes in them so strongly. The track is nicely in the way the vocal builds towards the powerful bridge, and the emotional intensity increases in a way that makes the song feel believable. However, the lyrical quality of the track is slightly poor as there is too much repetition, and the concept feels too simple to command the listener’s attention in an exciting way. The funky dance groove of the production is nice but also perhaps a bit too simple and typical of the dance genre, and so this is another offering from the singer that once again suffers from lack of originality or an attention grabbing quality, and so by this point it seems that this factor is the singers main downfall with the whole record.

3/5

Track 8- Open Up Your Eyes

Agnes gives us another track that offers the record a bit of musical diversity, as Open Up Your Eyes has a slight 1980’s pop feel to it. Lyrically the track finds the singer wishing for a man to pay attention and realise that they would be great together, with the track having a cool honesty even if it does go through the clichés, and acts as a sort of anthem for all the guys and girls who have really fancied a friend but have stayed in the friend zone. The singer gives us a smooth vocal performance that nicely conveys the songs begging quality, making us really believe that she wants this guy. The funky groove and snappy beats of the production make this a simple pop track that has a cool dance around, would sound good in a teen movie vibe that is infectious.

3.5/5

Track 9- Sometimes I Forget

Things are slowed down for this simple pop ballad which acts as an ode to Agnes love for this guy, with the singer lyrically conveying the sentiment of how she sometimes forgets to really express her feelings, but he should just know that she really does love him. The track nicely employs a mixture of French and English, and finds the singer giving us a pure vocal performance that shows of the singers voice in a grand way. The songs production features a simple back beat and stirring strings for a nice pop ballad sound that isn’t unique but which still works and sounds powerful enough to leave some form of impression on the listener.

3.5/5

Track 10- Big Blue Wall

The record ends on a simple ballad that is a bit more potent than the previous track and finds the singer in a fragile frame of mind. Here the singer expresses her feelings of being fragile and not wanting to be hurt by love, and so she can just build herself this wall and maybe one day she might fall in love. The lyrics once again feel to prominently clichéd, but with the singers powerful voice she commands the song and gives the song this essence of delicacy. The steady rhythm of the production and the way the sound builds is great, with the use of a choir within the last choruses giving the song that final kick that makes this a good song to finish the record with.

3.5/5

Final Review

Dance Love Pop lives up to its title and finds the singer giving us cool musical offerings that will get you moving and which finds the singer always giving us the best vocally. The tracks are for the most part produced well, and Agnes definitely commands the album with a vocal presence that shows exactly why she won Swedish pop idol. However, the album largely suffers musically because of clichéd statements and a lack of original flair that would make the record stand out, and so whilst she may have had a great first international single, this album just doesn’t quite measure up to being something that could have true, worldwide commercial success.

5.5/10

Best Track- Release Me

Worst Track- How Do You Know

No comments:

Post a Comment