EMILIE NICOLAS
Like I’m A Warrior
Columbia/Sony
Emilie Nicolas has gone from an unknown artist to being one of the most hyped and anticipated artists in Scandinavia this past year. With a request from the Pstereo Festival in Tronheim, Norway, Emilie Nicolas was asked to cover Dumdumboys’ song Pstereo, which brought her out into the mainstream radio world. It also earned her a nomination at P3 Gull(Norwegian Public Broadcaster award show).
At first listen you might think ‘not another melancholic album’, then after a few seconds you are mesmerised with the heaviness of Nicolas’ ability to pull you into her world. Nicolas is lyrically quite profound and delivers strong insights that take you wandering. The single, Grown Up, starts out sweet and soft with the lyrics building in toughness alongside the music. ‘I don’t need safety. I’ve grown up. I don’t need a home. I’ve grown up. I don’t need your love. I’ve grown up. You don’t need to say sorry. I’ve grown up. Don’t need to forget. I’ve grown up. I don’t need to forgive. I’ve grown up’. The song feels like a journey of moving from being a teenager to adulthood and all the lessons learnt on the way. On the track Frail, Nicolas takes on a harsher attitude similar to Susanne Sundfor, with dubstep effects accompanied by a more pissed off attitude: ‘Don’t call me lazy/I go down on him daily’.
Like I’m A Warrior flows between soft melancholy and steams up to passionate, heated electronica. The sputter of electronica combined with Nicolas’ distinctive voice makes it one of the most exciting album releases coming out from Norway this year.
4 stars
IDA CECILIE JOHANNESSEN
