The name “Sigrid” may not be instantly recognizable on campus, or at all in America for that matter, but in Europe, Sigrid Solbakk Raabe is on a first-name basis with pop fans and is widely considered the next superstar. With slow-burning, platinum-selling hit “Strangers,” Sigrid is inescapable in the U.K. but rather unknown here. However, with her debut album, Sucker Punch, Sigrid makes her claim for pop world-dominance. While Sucker Punch lacks the cohesive thread of a proper concept project, Sigrid instead elected to create a collection of songs that defines this moment in pop music, showing concise but personal lyrics and a great natural ear for surprising melodies. Sigrid has created the perfect spring pop playlist.
Sigrid’s style is pop, but her ability to subtly elevate her music with a bit of extra creativity sets her apart from others in the genre. “Sight of You,” a song about touring, features a backing string part, and when the arrangement gives a second or two for the strings to breathe just before the first chorus, the break from the otherwise fast-paced track is unexpected and welcome. In another example, after an excellent bridge in “Basic,” which is modern pop perfection, the penultimate chorus suddenly turns lo-fi; the arrangement backs off and a guitar and Sigrid’s bare voice are front and center, sounding organic and like they’re singing playing across the room from listeners. In a streaming culture where instant-gratification is rewarded, so few pop artists would attempt to break the momentum of a song in such a way, but doing just that makes Sigrid sound even more refreshing, and places her above most other solid pop debuts.
Sigrid’s approach to a pop-breakup song updates Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” or “Dancing on My Own” in its juxtaposition between the happy and sad, and again elevates Sucker Punch. While most pop breakup songs adopt a tone of either tear-jerking sadness or ‘f*** you,’ Sigrid explores the gray area between the two. “Strangers” places the heartbreak of realizing love is not like in the movies against the most rapidly vibrating synth of 2019 so far, creating a “crying while dancing” vibe that is just so necessary sometimes. Album highlight “In Vain” navigates placing too much faith in a relationship that ends up being unreciprocated, but explodes into a banger while Sigrid’s cracking voice switches from sadness to anger and back. Add a bridge where Sigrid playfully repeats “give it give it up,” and the extent of her songwriting is revealed; juxtaposing the complicated verses with such a simple bridge, and similarly, the softness of the verses with the eruption of synths later on creates a mix of emotions seldom found in most of mass-appealing pop.
In addition to writing smart love songs, since breakout hit “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” Sigrid has displayed the ability to write pop songs that assert her autonomy and identity against adversity. In “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” Sigrid turned her experiences of feeling belittled by older men in the music industry into a protest song, singing, “You shut me down, you like the control / You speak to me like I’m a child / … I know the answer / … You feel threatened by me.” This trend continues on Sucker Punch with “Business Dinners,” a glitchy pop track that, amazingly, manages to fit the term “business dinners” seamlessly into its chorus. Avoiding clichés and pitfalls that many artists fall into while writing songs about ownership of self, like being too preachy or general, Sigrid blends important messages with exciting production and music to stay above the average pop star.
Sucker Punch places Sigrid in the pantheon of pop’s rising stars, and although it is not a career-defining pop album like 21 or Melodrama, it shows her penchant for writing engaging songs that are more than just playlist fodder. Sigrid herself described Sucker Punch as a time-capsule, or a collection of songs that define the last two years of her life, which explains why each song serves as a descriptive but isolated vignette of a part of Sigrid’s life. If you’re a fan of synth-pop, check out this album for the most exciting debut of the year so far.
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