We like her about as much as we did before…
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[7.29]
Cédric Le Merrer: When Tina Fey hosted SNL a few days ago, she made a throwaway gag about her fictional recurring character “The Lady With No Theme Song.” The joke was, obviously that this isn’t a thing. Being the nerd that I am, though, I’ve since spent a lot of time trying to articulate what having no theme song could mean exactly. Enter Veronica Maggio, who has a knack for the anthemic: if anything, her previous album has proven that she’s the lady with too many theme songs. And this new single, with its orchestral drum rolls, bells, the top-of-our-lungs-beltability of its chorus and its use as album opener (all reasons why it reminds me of the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight”, a much more heavy-handed theme song) is probably a new best contender for the title of Maggio’s one true theme.
[9]
Iain Mew: The warmth of the production is gorgeous. Every chime is cushioned by clouds, floating away into the heavenly distance. It’s a pleasure to listen to, and it sets things up perfectly for Maggio to slice right through as the emotion builds.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Using “frosty synths” in a review of a Scandinavian act is like referring to “white boys dancing”: it’s description, not criticism. This production aims for a multitracked approximation of hysteria in which the power that be forgot to program rhythm parts.
[5]
Anthony Easton: This is so genuinely delightful and sweet, almost a lullaby where the lack of energy becomes virtuous. There are some interesting musical choices — the hint of a bell, how the vocals are mixed relatively low, some of the abstractions near the end that speak in the grammar of dance music without being dance music. But when she strains her vocals near the end, it strains the entire composition. She should have trusted her first instinct.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: Parts of “Sergels Torg,” specifically the intro and the lead-in to the chorus, are a pretty good approximation of what ABBA might sound like if they popped back into the studio. Though Maggio has always been relatively reserved as a singer, this has the same richly melodic dread of late ABBA too; Sergels torg in Stockholm is a meeting place, and Maggio uses it as the location of a relationship on death row that’s going to fall apart eventually, probably passive-aggressively. The heartbreak suits her softly soulful voice perfectly, and the energy of the middle-eight is a nice touch, if strained and harsh, with otherwise the same resigned loss as “Dumpa Mig.” In other words, Maggio is an expert at this awkward stuff.
[9]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: If you find yourself up against a language barrier, you will be charmed by Maggio’s slightly mumbly delivery — a translation will quickly do away with a sense of mystery and replace it with muddles. “Sergels Torg” effectively builds from overly cutesy beginnings to dramatic bombast, but lord knows what it has to do with melancholy public spaces and some sort of existential crisis.
[6]
Brad Shoup: “I know you want this, but what does it fucking matter?” Better to show the despair a split-second after detonation. We have enough weeks-on wallowing. Maggio understands that heartbreak isn’t just about what the other person did. It’s also the common touches of scenery and circumstance that spring at you. Even in her deepest rut, the singer never expected to see shitty dinner weather in Stockholm’s most popular plaza. This is how it ends? the voices howl. “Over plates at Sergels Square?” The song, in the beginning, feints toward stratospheric dudgeon, but the snare barges in, putting Maggio on the move. In my mind, she’s walking briskly and processing loudly, and you can play the final three chords how you like.
[9]