All hail Karen Marie ѓrsted, the latest descendant of the Scandinavian pop dynasty. Her debut Bikini Daze EP released late last year was no Robyn/Lykke Li B-side effort, however, each track fuelling MØ’s (pronounced ‘muuh’) status as a trailblazer in her own right.
With the production finesse of Copenhagen-based songwriting tandem NO WAV. (who we can also thank for Rhye and Quadron’s latest outputs), Mѓ has dropped a cocktail of fresh pop cuts spiked with a couple of old repeat-button-obliterating favourites. The release sees MØ pack her saccharine Danish vocal ancestry into a stylistic shell that hardens into synth-driven trap at times and lulls into ’50s balladry at others. Cavorting from hook to hook, MØ shows off her melodic mastery, disguising melancholic musings with addictive brass hooks and a cavalcade of percussion and bass. You can hear her rap-roots trickle in as she almost spits out lines, before gliding into heavily layered harmonies with charismatic ease.
From the swaggered-out Diplo collaboration on ‘XXX 88’, on which she chants about youthful cynicism, to the Lana Del Rey-esque coos on ‘Waste Of Time’, MØ has crafted a persona that is both sonically and lyrically self-assured and cool as shit.
4/5 stars
No Mythologies To Followis out now onRCA/Sony.
