Icona Pop‘s “I Love It” was an inescapable hit. It dominated radio play, was a covered on “Glee” and was featured on TV shows like “Snooki & JWoww” and HBO’s “Girls,” but now, the Swedish electric duo are ready to show fans so much more.
Icona Pop, who formed back in 2009, have released their first international album, a ’90s throwback a blend of punk, pop and techno that paints the picture of who Icona Pop are as artists and individuals — which is one of the reasons they titled the album, This Is…Icona Pop.
“First of all, I think it’s fun for people to get to know us more than just ‘I Love It’ because ‘I Love It’ is just a small part of what Icona Pop is,” Caroline Hjelt told MTV News. “It’s an album that we’ve been writing on for such a long time. It’s everything that we’ve been through, all the places, all the love, drama, everything. It’s just such an honest album — even the cover. It’s ‘Hey, this is Icona Pop. We’re naked.’ “
Aino Jawo added, “It’s a lot of love drama coming out of bad relationships, falling in love, but also it’s about these nights you never want to leave or you always go back to when you meet that handsome man in that city and you just rumble and stumble around and you just fall in love for one night.”
So which songs off This Is…Icona Pop will you be putting on replay? MTV News picked four standout tracks.
“All Night”
“All Night” is reminiscent of “I Love It” with its similar vocal deliveries, but it slowly starts to introduce what else the girls can do. The mid-tempo track, not only has a catchy, carefree hook, but also has a strong message. “The song is basically about expressing yourself to not be afraid of showing how you do it and when you find the right element you just want to do it all night,” Jawo said.
“Girlfriend”
Even though the album may be filled with songs about heartbreak and love, “Girlfriend” proves that all the bandmates need is each other. The girl-power anthem, co-produced by Stargate, incorporates 2Pac’s “Me and My Girlfriend” lyrics, “All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend,” but before they used the sample, Icona Pop asked a special someone for permission.
“We actually wrote a letter to 2Pac’s mom and asked if we could use it,” Jawo said. “And she liked the song so she said yes so we felt very very honored because 2Pac is one of the best rappers.”
“Then We Kiss”
It may be the last song on the album, but it’s certainly one of the strongest, and should be another single from Icona Pop. The girls chant “then we kiss” over an ’80s-inspired up-tempo beat that fans could put on when getting ready for a night out.
“I think ‘Then We Kiss’ is one of our favorite songs because it’s like, ‘People wake up,’ ” Jawo said. “It’s so simple so people like to hum along, so after the second chorus people go crazy.”
“Just Another Night”
Stripping down the heavy beats, Icona Pop shows pure emotion on “Just Another Night.” The somber, ballad shows off their vocals as they take turns singing about a relationship that has just ended.
“I think you’re hanging out somewhere downtown/I wonder who you’re dancing with now/are you doing the same?/ Close my eyes and were still naked/but then I see that my clock is changing/ It’s just another night, on the other side,” they sing on the song.
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