Review of: So Good by Zara Larsson

To be quite honest, I've always found Zara Larsson quite a difficult artist to place. The kind of artist that thrived on tight summer jams like Lush Life and soaring electro-pop songs like Never Forget You ft MNEK, both of which are songs I like, but before long, I started finding weaknesses in Larsson's production and writing that made me slightly hesitant going into her debut international release So Good. Larsson remained an excellent performer with a tonne of presence and charisma, but her later singles really disappointed me. The first of these was Ain't my Fault. A song where Larsson claims that it is not her fault that she is attracted to this guy and tha
t it's just human nature. A fairly innocent idea awfully executed. An admittedly decent build up leading into an unsettled, stiff, rigid pop hook that is barely redeemed from being flat out abysmal by a charismatic performer in Zara Larsson that I've come to expect from the Swedish singer.

Her follow up, I Would Like fell somewhere in between Lush Life and Ain't My Fault musically, but while Larson could play the role of a summer girl bouncing from crush to crush on Lush Life easily, Larsson has a harder time on this track. Probably because the writing is nowhere near as tight and punchy, production that desperately tries to find the gap between the style that worked for her on her previous hits, and the ugly pitch shifted vocals that don't flatter her or this writing at all that also turned up on Never Forget You ft MNEK and Don't Let Me Be Yours.

I feel like I had reason to go into this album slightly concerned going into this international debut album. I was made even more concerned when I saw Charlie Puth and Ed Sheeran on production on a few tracks. At this point, I've lost all sense of expectation going into this album.   I was just looking forward to sitting back and watching the madness unfold in front of me. So, what did we get worth talking about from pop superstar Zara Larsson?

Honestly, not a tremendous amount. Don't get me wrong, whilst Zara Larsson's So Good is not a bad electro-pop album, it's difficult to call it great or even all that good at points. And the things is that, generally, I can explain the problems quite easily. The biggest one is the vocal production and pitch shifting that turns up on tracks like I Would Like, Never Forget You ft MNEK and Don't Let Me Be Yours that really sours the tone on some of these songs distorting any upbeat energy they might have. It feels like a cheap, lifeless way of attempting to build an atmosphere and ultimately it falls short of making me feel anything beyond repulse. And they come up again, and again on this album and it ends up as this album's main flaw. However, on the songs that this isn't a problem, for example her hit Lush Life, Larsson shows how much flare she really does have as a performer over a tight, bouncy synth line that matches the summer vibe without feeling completely lifeless or too drowned out in tropical influences like so much of what was on the radio in 2016 and into 2017 if you look at Ed Sheeran's super hit Shape Of You, but we're getting off topic. The point is, a select few of these songs really do work with production that plays off Larsson's vocal delivery well.

However, there are songs on this album that just flat out don't work. One of them is the washed out Sundown ft Wizkid which attempts to play with the theme of not wanting to wait until the end of the day to make love to their significant other but instead doing it there and then. Another perfectly innocent subject, but with weak pop production with nowhere near the detail of the best songs here. Once again, the saving grace of this track is a fantastic vocal delivery. And, to be honest, that is the one constant throughout this album and the one crucial element that saves so much if this album from mediocrity. However, there are one or two instrumental moments that do connect. I like the horn-like synths on the chorus of Don't Let Me Be Yours that really adds some flavour to that particular song even with the pitch shifting, the synths that have some presence on the build up on Ain't My Fault, and the razor tight groove and whistle anchoring the hook on Lush Life. These are all great moments, but the problem is, outside of Lush Life, Symphony, Never Forget You ft MNEK, Funeral, the verses and build up on Ain't My Fault, and maybe Don't Let Me Be Yours very little of this album stood out as memorable in my first few listens which leads do an ultimately disjointed album, which I could kind of forgive for an international debut, but for a pop star as successful as Zara Larsson I really expected something more.

The worst moment by far being the sluggish feminist anthem, Make That Money Girl. Not only are pitch shifted vocals as misplaced as ever, but, in terms of the production and writing, the hook feels lazy, sluggish, and with nowhere near as much presence as it thinks it has. Filler material on an album that desperately doesn't need filler material.

But, of corse, this album is not completely throw away as there are a fair few moments on this album that I do like quite a bit. Like the sticky, memorable chorus and bridge on the opener What They Say, the lonely feel of One Mississipi, the guitar on the verses on Don't Let Me Be Yours, and especially the track Funeral. The cacophonous and infectious hook against tightly woven and crafted verses and Larsson singing at the top of her lungs with the pitch shifting being kept at a minimum. One of the best songs I have heard thus far this year and, with any luck, it will be her next single.

But as a whole, I'm conflicted on this album. On the one hand, there are some great songs on here like Lush Life and Funeral, but at the same time there are some bad moments like Make That Money Girl and I Would Like that force this album back to an extremely light 3 / 5. I would recommend some individual tracks from this album, but only it as a whole if you are interested in seeing Larsson's progression as a pop star.

Rating: Extremely Light 3 / 5

Favourite Tracks: Funeral, Lush Life, Don't Let Me Be Yours

Least Favourite Tracks: Make That Money Girl