Anna of the North is an indie pop queen with a cold twist: Combining hollow production and breathy vocals, her album track “Lovers” is a world of its own.
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From the looks of her social media pages, Anna Lotterud, or Anna of the North, is an existentially-driven anomaly, with a dark sense of humor and an ironic social media appearance to match. She can easily be classified as an “it girl,” one who’s not trying to be hip, but is making waves in a social arena simply due to her ability to be so relatable, yet so out of reach.
Anna’s Instagram persona is key to her aesthetic: it seems to be a very candid, uncensored collection of her thoughts, which is inviting to fans and visitors alike. And from it, pieces of Anna’s life can be gathered and predicted: yet her musical sound reads like something from another planet.
The Norwegian artist is an indie-pop queen with a very cold twist, a dynamic ready for the radio but still residing on an unacknowledged level for only the best music connoisseurs to call their own discovery.
You told me I would never see you walk away
Said you’d never break my heart
Never leave me in the dark
I guess there’s just some promises you shouldn’t make
Shoulda known from the start
Listen: “Lovers” – Anna of the North
Anna of the North is a new find for us at Atwood Magazine, and we couldn’t resist making her song “Lovers” Today’s Song. The track beautifully showcases what we love about her: the haunting enchantment that comes with such a hollow, yet explosive sound.
“Lovers” is the title track off Anna of the North’s debut album, released in September 2017 via Honeymoon / +1 Records. The album is packed with Lotterud’s signature sound, one of mystery and soft delicacy.
I’m in the dark
Show a little loving
Shine a little light on me
I’m in the dark, I can’t see
Can’t see it, can’t see it
Feeling my way back to you
I can’t feel
Can’t feel it, can’t feel it
Though the album is full of addicting hits, “Lovers” catches attention with breathy vocals and heavy electro drum beats. The song is an ideal dance track, but it holds a unique stillness. While a sound doesn’t have a physical feel, it’s easy to describe Anna of the North’s sound as cold: there’s something utterly arctic about it, like a winter wonderland of echoed vocals chanting in complete isolation.
In a way, “Lovers” is a song we’ve heard before. It has the danceability, the mismatched melodic content that makes a top indie hit, and the sense of belonging in multiple genres. Though the formula for a common song is there, Lotterud has created a track unlike anything on the air, or even on your Spotify playlist. It’s utterly individual, so much so it’s alarming. Lotterud has been able to create a world of her own in one track, let alone in her entire album.
Reach out and show a little loving
Shine a little light on me
Show a little loving
Shine a little light on me
“Lovers” holds an addictive power, an ability to demand attention at first listen. While its melody is captivating on its own, Lotterud’s vocals add an important piece to the otherwise hollow production. Manipulated with airiness and soft discretion, Lotterud’s voice carries the track. She sings lyrics of a lost love, with a desperate aggression that can be taken as either heartbreak or spite. Lyrics like “Said you’d never break my heart, never leave me in the dark, I guess there’s just some promises you shouldn’t make,” are obvious statements of loss, but can be interpreted differently based on any relating listener’s own experience.
Though the lyrics imply a certain vulnerability, Lotterud sings with an unquestionable confidence in her own ability and the content she’s creating. The message is delivered from the voice of a indie-pop star, and it’s difficult to challenge that concept with “Lovers” and the entire Lovers album alike. The bold confidence and stylistic vulnerability is never changing, and it never grows tired.
You told me I would never see you go astray
Said we’d never be apart
Never leave me in the dark
I guess there’s just some promises you shouldn’t make
Shoulda known from the start
“Always,” the album’s latest single is constructed with a different life, yet holds all of the key components that make “Lovers” special. The track holds equal perfection in hollow, icy, and captivating vocals, but it catches attention with lyrical speech rather than surrounding instrumentals. The song gives a better glimpse into Lotterud’s raw vocal talent, stripping layers of production, but keeping enough to allow the necessary echo effect that has created Anna of the North’s signature sound.
Even with differing musical statements, Lovers is a cohesive collection with an overarching sound of pure euphoria, created delicately with detail and attention. The album is an award-worthy debut from a rising talent, capable of topping charts and crafting her own sound in a world of similarity.
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:: stream/purchase Lovers here ::
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© Jonathan Vivaas Kise
