"Icona Pop" Stumbles and Recovers

With some fresh singles like “I Love It" under their belt, Icona Pop have blitzed the charts in the last year. Prior to their new album, “This is… Icona Pop,” the group built a powerful image as one of the major players in the Top 40 that isn’t afraid to experiment and cross musical borders. In fact, the beauty of Icona Pop lies in the versatility of their music. Their bright tones can fill the dance floor in seconds, but you’ll also see their music in many indie playlists. It’s pop, it’s dance, it’s indie—the world can’t get enough of it. The only problem is, contrary to the bright, fresh feeling of Icona Pop’s first hits, the band’s first full length album doesn’t feel like anything new.

Make no mistake, the album is good. It’s just that besides a few shining examples, the songs are relatively interchangeable. “On a Roll” stylistically sounds like a much less inspired version of “I Love It,” for instance. This repetition is not limited to “On a Roll.” It appears again and again throughout the middle section of the album, reaching a nadir on “In the Stars,” which is marked by repetitive, heavy guitar chords that quickly become boring, and a drum synthesizer that feels unusually fake at the slower tempo.

Each of these songs, individually, are good if not great. Icona Pop’s style, on the whole, is very unique. However, the duo’s musical choices become obvious quickly because they are consistent across this set of songs. The entire album can be summed up in three parts: 1) bright vocals, 2) heavy guitar and synth chords, and 3) intermittent, ecstatic guitar slides. It’s as if the group’s creativity ran dry after they cracked the Icona Pop musical formula and industrialized the process.

Certain outliers in the album are its saving grace. Icona Pop, admittedly, do manage to mix things up, continuing to cross into other genres such as hip-hop. With “Light Me Up,” Icona Pop slow things down, opting for a slower, heavy beat. Gone is the clear 4/4 churn. In its place, arpeggiated synths and a funky bass line drive the piece home.

Sections like this offer a bit more substance than the middle section of the album. The silly, fun-loving sound of “Then We Kiss” manages to make up for many of the stumbles of the middle songs. The energy and finality of it make it more than decent punctuation for the end of the album. The faster tempo, along with the bouncy synth motif heard throughout, is refreshing and uplifting. The stunning track managed to improve the album as a whole—no easy task.

Besides that, the album’s earlier songs steal the show—namely “Girlfriend,” “We Got the World,” and “I Love It.” In these tracks, the classic Icona Pop sound is at its best—engaging and bright without feeling hackneyed. These singles are the heart of the album. “Girlfriend,” a previously released single, takes the risk of lightening up on the chords for an airier feel, and it pays off, as the punchier climaxes are all the more exciting. But nothing compares to Icona Pop’s signature single “I Love It.”  The bass drives the music, and it does so wonderfully. Its subtle yet driving buzz keeps things bright and balances well with the hi-hat beat and vocals.

Icona Pop are not unoriginal, and their sound still appeals most of the time. Unfortunately, “This is… Icona Pop” drags throughout the repetitive middle of the album. This leaves me wondering what else the powerhouse indie pop group can offer us if they stay devoted to their niche. The self-consciously fresh and sparkling nature of their sound practically requires them to keep their future releases sounding new and surprising. It’s a challenging requirement, and, if they fail to meet it with future releases, Icona Pop risks fading away entirely.