Aurora dances with the shadows. Ancient atmospheres and electropop pulsations intertwine in his latest album like never before. On the one hand, there is the dreamlike enchantment; on the other, an almost physical tension. The voice doubles and multiplies, while the plots open up in continuous contrasts.
Fifth LP by the Norwegian singer-songwriter, “What Happened To The Heart?” brings to light a varied and layered style, which marks his second entry into the British Top Ten. The peaks of the album have already exceeded ten million listens each, confirming a base of almost 13 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Each track seems to recall a sound spectrum that embraces past and present, mixing folk with Nordic echoes, electronic pop and a pinch of ethereal darkwave like never before.
The atmospheres of the album emerge starting from the initial “Echo Of My Shadow”, which takes us back to the visionary nymph of her origins – that of the hits “Runaway” and “Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)”, suspended between mystery and melancholy. A similar feeling can be found in “Earthly Delights”, a delicate and persuasive song, a key to access the most dreamy depths of the album.
But the folk vein, made up of echoes and arcane rhythms, soon gives way to a much more lively electropop liveliness, in songs like “Some Type Of Skin” and “Do You Feel?”, where the closeness with Robyn takes hold. Here, Aurora shows off an energetic style, with constructions that combine rhythm and melodic momentum. “Some Type Of Skin”, in particular, is one of the most solid episodes: the chorus, supported by a piano on low octaves, alternates tension and openings, while the crescendo pattern amplifies the evocative impact of the song.
Further fascinating are the tracks in which folk and electronics find an almost equal balance. “When The Dark Dresses Lightly” – a very programmatic title – plays on the complementarity of its components, combining sylvan darkness, wolfish vocalizations and impulses art-electro-pop of great melodic incisiveness. “A Soul With No King”, however, integrates medieval references into the arrangement (largely given by the use of fiddlea traditional variant of the violin) and a rhythmic crescendo based on saturated electronics, for a captivating outcome with a strong atmospheric impact. And then there is “Starvation”, built on a drum roll that gradually evolves together with the arrangement, dark and bright thanks to the synthetic cuts that interpenetrate with overlapping vocalizations and electronically reworked (to the point of touching on territories stutter housecourageously combined with drop from Edm rave party).
Finally, there is no shortage of forays into more pop territories, as in the single “Your Blood” (released already in 2023), with a cocktail lounge which recalls – also thanks to a melodic similarity in the chorus – “Lovefool” by the Cardigans. Or the sparkling “To Be Alright”, with references to the more imaginative Kate Bush of “Hounds Of Love” (or, to cite a less obvious example, the more drumming episodes of Swedish Amanda Mair's debut album).
Aurora manages to balance diversity and opposites without ever losing stylistic unity. He proves himself skilled in creating songs that play on rhythmic variations and always elegant vocal combinations, distilled with imagination and musical intelligence. Sixteen tracks, over an hour of music, “What Happened To The Heart?” it is an album to be discovered calmly, but which knows how to enchant and conquer, track after track.
05/11/2024
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
