A "Stranger" No More
by Austin Pak
photography courtesy of Sigrid Instagram
Sigrid, a singer and songwriter from Norway, finally released her debut album Sucker Punch on Friday, March 8.
She made her international debut with her Don’t Kill My Vibe EP in May of 2017, and she immediately made waves in the music industry as her EP charted in several countries worldwide.
With her signature synth-pop/rock sound and “yodeling” style of singing, Sigrid proved what separates her from most of her contemporaries when she won the BBC Music Sound of 2018 contest. Subsequently, the single that she was promoting at that time, “Strangers”, began to gain some traction and eventually landed in the Top 10 of the charts in many European countries.
During the last 2 years, Sigrid has been slowly making a name for herself, and she seems to be continuing to do so with the release of her debut album.
For people who have never heard of Sigrid, the first song that they should listen to is “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, which is the most “Sigrid” song that there is on the album, and rightfully so as it was her breakout single.
This specific song plays to her strengths as she shows off her unique voice over a mellow backtrack. There really is no one else that could sing this song and do it justice like Sigrid, and that’s when you know an artist has truly found their own style musically.
“Basic” was another standout song from the album that is a fun, fast-paced pop/rock song that is a slight change from her normal songs which are usually synth heavy mid-tempo pop songs. During the bridge, Sigrid goes to a fully stripped version of her and the guitar, which was a nice break from the loudness of the other parts of the song and led very nicely into the last chorus of the song.
For the people who are looking for pure, fun pop music, “Don’t Feel Like Crying” will most likely be your best bet off of the album. This song sounds like a song that you would listen to with your friends while driving, singing your hearts out to forget whatever pain you have been through, whether it be a break up or a hard time at school.
Sigrid’s signature sound also helps convey that carefree message more as her falsetto during the chorus gives the song a much more carefree attitude. As she sings, “Wallowing in it would be such a waste / That isn’t gonna fix it anyway,” she inspires her listeners to look on the bright side and to see life in a more uplifting light.
“In Vain” was probably the best song on the album, in which she is able to show off her powerful upper register as she sings about how she never wants to give her heart up for someone else if they’re not going to do the same for her.
This song deviates from the more “mainstream” pop songs on her album like “Strangers” in the fact that she puts a little bit more emotion into the song with her raspy voice.
The last minute and a half of the song was a nice change in pace from the beginning of the song as it transitions to a much more powerful chorus with big hi-hats, drums, and synths, making it one of the best songs on the album.
The album was a solid debut album from an up and coming pop artist. However, if there was a problem that I did have it was that it did feel like Sigrid was playing it a little too safe at some points. Several of the songs on the album seemed like direct copies of each other in terms of format and did not really bring anything new to the table.
With Sucker Punch, Sigrid shows us that she is capable of becoming a big-time pop star. In a time when a lot of music has been riding the “I’m depressed and sad” trend, Sigrid provides a nice splash of happiness and excitement in the music industry that other people don’t have right now. While her debut album won’t likely create too big of a splash in the American music industry this year, she has definitely carved out a path to success in the future.