AURORA - Animal

January 24, 2019 - Decca Records/Universal

Norwegian singer-songwriter/producer Aurora Aksnes is following up her Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1) EP, the  follow up to her studio debut All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, itself a follow up to her first commercial project, 2015’s Running with the Wolves EP with a brand new single ‘Animal,’ the probable first single to Infections of a Different Kind (Step 2). It is important to list Aksnes’s projects as such; she has been writing music since age 6, accumulating over 1,000 songs/poems. This has provided a strong cohesive basis of work for the artist to stand upon, and while not much time has elapsed since her first release, the progression of Aksnes’s work has evolved in a slower, more natural way. 

‘Animal’ fits snugly in Aksnes’s body of work. Feelings of the natural world collide with distinct electronic tones, the hint of nostalgia creeps in from behind, a strong vocal dynamic range drives the production in tandem with theatrical percussive elements that balance nicely with a simple but not naive lyrical narrative. It’s oaky, like a good chardonnay, lean, complex if you linger, light on the pallet, but enough body to stand on its own. The song, like much of Aksnes’s music, carries a strong emotional presence, slight melancholy, a little timid at times, but always the sense of hope. There are a few hiccups; a melodic breakdown around the two minute mark skirts the edge of stock sci-fi club scene, and I personally will never feel right with branding a large metropolis as a “concrete jungle,” but I get it. That’s just me.

Compared to previous projects, the argument could be and has been made that ‘Animal’ is further in the mainstream pop side of the spectrum. I am not particularly interested in engaging with that sentiment. Typically the only reason something like that would be brought up is to paint a project in a negative light when compared to previous work, previous work that the person making the comparison must have held in that secret little compartment we all hold within, the “special to me and no one else” vault. As stated before, ‘Animal’ fits snugly with the rest of the portfolio. Lyricism, production, and musicality have always been spot on, though I have noticed a slight vocal-forward shift in the mix down. 

Sometimes I wait to engage with a piece until rest of the project has assembled, but Aksnes is particularly sparse with release dates and hype building. Just as well though, this is an infectious track, and I’m sure to enjoy what’s to come.🍍