Zara Larsson is quite the opinionated popstar. The Swede's Twitter and Instagram feeds are filled with feminism, swears, memes, cute selfies and a distinct lack of bullshit. Throw in the fact that the best pop music is made in Sweden and Larsson really is a cool, youthful popstar for our times. Her millions of social media followers would certainly agree.
How, then, is 'So Good' so average?
It's the sound of a winning personality and decent vocalist being sucked into a personality vacuum. If Larsson is the quintessential 2017 popstar, then this debut is something of a tick list of trends. I Would Like is the cheeky sex jam. So Good is a pop song in the Ariana Grande mould that's so breezy it simply wafts by uneventfully, with a Ty Dolla $ign rap to boot. Sundown taps into dancehall flavours. Ain't My Fault is standard R&B pop fare.
None of these are bad songs. Far from it - 'So Good' is full of solidly constructed pop with polished production. And with almost all the tracks ending around the three minute mark, they come and go easily enough. It makes for an enjoyable listen, but it's empty. What's missing is Larsson. Much of the album could be sung by any other generic singer and be no less enjoyable. Where's the wit and sass we've come to expect?
A few songs do capture Larsson's essence. Breakthrough hit Lush Life was one of 2016's best pop tracks, Larsson living life "the way I wanna" over buoyant rhythms. The sad-pop TG4M looks to Robyn's Dancing On My Own for inspiration. The raw vocal of Funeral mirrors a relationship being torn apart. And Never Forget You, released with MNEK, remains a banger. Yet when one of your best tracks was released two years ago, there's a problem.
These tracks hint at the popstar potential of Larsson. But it's ironic that it all ends with the brilliantly euphoric Symphony - a Clean Bandit track on which she features, released on the same day. The inevitable success of that track will likely overshadow this album, but Larsson deserves to be more than a featured artist. 'So Good' just doesn't quite cut it.
3/5
Gizzle's Choice:
* Lush Life
* TG4M
* Symphony
Listen: 'So Good' is out now.
