Thursday 3 January 2013

MØ - Pilgrim


Apparently MØ is old Norse for 'maiden' or 'virgin'.  It's also the initials of Danish singer Karen Marie Ørsted, whose initial release was fittingly entitled Maiden.  Pilgrim is the official debut and continues the trend for exciting Scandinavian pop.

Fans of Grimes will definitely find Ørsted's unique, weird electronica appealing.  Yet much of this weirdness is owing to Swedish songwriter Lykke Li - a key influence.  The sparse production of Pilgrim is pleasingly unusual - a bubbling bassline, handclap beat, brass stabs and a soulful, sultry vocal that sighs "Oh what a world I was born into".  The song jerks and stutters, sounding utterly idiosyncratic; the existential lyrics questioning "why do you and I live on and on?".  Hopefully it's to make more odd pop like this.

4/5

Listen: Pilgrim is released in February, with an album of the same name due later this year.