I’d be pretty thrilled with that score, too…
[Video]
[6.83]
Katherine St Asaph: When we last heard from Norwegian artist Gabrielle — and when, thanks to Nordic series Skam, a bunch of Swedes heard her for the first time — she was making chilly, near-militaristic electro. On “Nye Joggesko” she’s almost preternaturally chill, the effortless presence holding together a track that saunters from subtle new jack swing smooveness to blown-out distortion, coy vocal trills to near-raps, heatwave synths to droplet glissandos. The technical term for this kind of juxtaposition is “summer jam.”
[8]
Ashley John: Gabrielle provides sweet, sugary vocals with crisp beats and goofy dancing in a tank and snapback. So, exactly what I want from a summer single. Each of Gabrielle’s releases in 2017 are markedly different, from the slow echos of “Kyrie” to the thumping “Vekk Meg Opp.” I like the idea of releasing these stand alone singles, especially when Gabrielle’s voice is strong enough to tie them all together without a sonic common ground.
[6]
Ryo Miyauchi: Gabrielle makes moving on sound like smooth sailing. But from her easy new-shoes metaphor to the comfortable, sunny beat, her victory feels too small for it to really resonate as a triumph of will.
[5]
Katie Gill: That contrast between the vocals and that thick, heavy beat is just downright divine. The way everything swells before the chorus drops. It’s an electronic jumble of sounds that somehow makes perfect, beautiful sense, where everything slots in amazingly well together.
[6]
Iain Mew: Gabrielle has tried on a lot of different sounds across four years of standalone singles since her brilliant debut Mildt Sagt. Here’s one of the best, taking the ebulliance of “Ring Meg” and putting it into great bubbling waves of synth for her to rise through with confident cool, a performance of small gestures that make a big impact.
[8]
Tim de Reuse: Joyous, sunny electropop, with tons of ticklish little stops and starts and production that alternates between giving Gabrielle plenty of space and viciously showing off. I sincerely apologize to the Norwegian language for my garbled attempts at singing along, but it’s difficult to resist.
[8]