Product Description
Over a decade into her career as one of Sweden's biggest pop exports, {|Zara Larsson|} expands her scope to include more shimmering dance-pop and neon-synth sheen on her third studio set, {|Venus|}. Along with the refreshed sound is a newfound artistic freedom: it's the first album released on her own {|Sommer House|} label. That liberated spirit -- the titular inner goddess of the title -- courses through {|Venus|}, which balances the usual pop-R&B style of her earlier work with rhythmic mainstream bops and some subtle emotional sweep. The playful singalong You Love Who You Love and the epic, string-backed End of Time build atop a persistent throb and soaring vocals, channeling the addictive, singsong style of {|Ava Max|}. Meanwhile, lead single Can't Tame Her careens down the midnight freeway of an '80s action flick, resurrecting that decade's full-throttle synth anthem energy. The sleek None of These Guys drips with attitude and a cold, pulsing beat, while {|David Guetta|} lends his festival-sized house production to On My Love, a reunion with the superstar DJ that sounds like {|Rihanna|}'s turn-of-the-decade ravers. {|Larsson|} stretches her usual range with the bittersweet piano ballad Soundtrack -- which references {|Radiohead|}, {|Joni Mitchell|}, and Hallelujah as she reflects on a past love -- and the aptly titled The Healing, another delicate piano-based dose of vulnerability. Everything comes together on the triumphant title track, which merges the synth-bop energy of the album's big radio-friendly singles and the emotional depth of Soundtrack to maximum effect, opening {|Larsson|}'s eyes to a new world full of love and possibility. Personal but still very fun, {|Venus|} is a bold but totally sensical evolution in sound that avoids a third LP of the same old songs and pushes {|Larsson|}'s sonic style into the future. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
