And finally, via William John, someone that yes, we could’ve covered a while back, or next month…
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William John: It’s been fashionable this year to exalt melodrama; arpeggiated synthesizer basically never goes out of style; and Scandinavian songs with protagonists positioned at the lonely end of the dancefloor will fill my mausoleum. At the centre of the Venn diagram of these three variables sits Sigrid’s “Strangers,” a barnstorming, enormous pop song unafraid to express a terrible notion generally reserved for inner monologues: that in spite of appearances and personal desires, sometimes a craved romance will always be mere fantasy. Usually, arriving at this realization is the kind of devastating blow that will lead you to sequestration from all elements of society aside from Netflix and Julien Baker. Sigrid instead adopts an uncompromising approach. Her bellowed chorus is defiant; her breathless middle eight reads on the page like dour pragmatism but is delivered with such charisma as to sound ascendant. When they interlock at the song’s conclusion, the effect is exhilarating. Exhilaration is not what we’re supposed to feel when the redemptive third act of our personal rom-coms fails to arrive; we’re supposed to wallow forever in the disconnect of Act Two’s sad, uncertain purgatory. “Strangers” demonstrates that when faced with the unpalatable, lucidity can beget strength, and that though searching for solace in others may prove unfruitful, heartache can always be mollified by a hammering synth.
[10]
Will Adams: Somewhere between “Into You” and “Scared to Be Lonely” lies an anxious battleground that carries the heated, bristling synthbass of the former and the yearning resignation of the latter, and that is “Strangers.” Sigrid is caught in the middle but still confident, knowing full well what lies in the night ahead and charging headfirst into it.
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Nortey Dowuona: Thumping bass hurdles a spread-out, flat drum pattern and thin, cascading synths pushing and enriching Sigrid’s soft, light vocals.
[7]
Alfred Soto: The thumping efficiency of this rather bloodless Norwegian pop is its own reward.
[7]
Scott Mildenhall: It’s hard to connect the promotional dots: is this The Big Single to coincide with Sound Of success, or will a re-push of “Don’t Kill My Vibe” fill that role? If Sigrid wants to exceed the inauspicious “Popjustice favourite” feel this has, perhaps it should. What lets “Strangers” down is its melodic limitations — or maybe more so Sigrid’s vocal limitations. Its stated ambitions feel half-met, but a lingering leadenness makes it harder to get excited by than its vibrant forebear.
[6]
Crystal Leww: “Don’t Kill My Vibe” was annoying and made me believe that Sigrid is a problematic white, but I gotta cop to “Strangers” being a bop!
[7]
Katie Gill: Man, this is a fun song. It’s bright, it’s amazingly danceable, and it’s so perfectly tailored to her voice and skills. Sigrid makes singing it sound downright effortless, despite the points where you know she’s making her runs and punctuation as precise as possible.
[8]
Josh Langhoff: Having spent the last 20 minutes trying to predict the breaks in that “duggaduggaduggaduggA” synth-bass rhythm line, and having failed, I can testify that sometimes songs become more fun when they outsmart you. The tremulous edge of Sigrid’s voice excels at both soaring melody and syncopated dance commanding, adding a whole other layer of rhythmic jolts. Like a 10-year-old car buried in the snow, “Strangers” takes a while to get going; but once the chimey atmospherics turn over into chugalug synthpop, the song sounds like it could run for days.
[8]
Brad Shoup: It gets better as it goes along: stuttering bass-synth and Sigrid going double-time would be exhausting in full. Better to unfurl them in sequence. Still, I’m not sure why she added fake-concert claps, like this is Scooter or something.
[6]
Ian Mathers: Once what I like to think of as the real synths kick in, their dark burble along with Sigrid’s powerfully clear voice and a certain cleareyed bluntness in the lyrics make this feel more than a little like a less goth (or at least less phantasmagorical) Susanne Sundfør.
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Alex Clifton: I hear shades of early Ellie Goulding, but with more of a groove; Lights-era Goulding was never this upbeat. Sigrid cited “Dancing on My Own” in an interview for this song, which also shows: it’s got such an undercurrent of buoyancy, even as she sings “it could never be us.”
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Ryo Miyauchi: I can see where Sigrid’s going a little too well. The lines fit too clean, and she sets the build-up to that distorted beat too perfect for her take on “Dancing on My Own” to really hit home.
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Katherine St Asaph: It’s a good song and all. It’s just the exact same good song Tove Lo and Halsey released this year.
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Julian Baldsing: Listening to “Strangers” for the first time is sort of like witnessing an old friend step into a new circle. The gravelliness of Sigrid’s voice has been played down for something a little less distinct, and the track’s lyrics and production sound like they’ve received a similar treatment. But when she bursts into that massive, roaring, undeniably Sigrid chorus — and that rapid-fire delivery just before the middle eight — her personality beams through, and everything becomes familiar again. It’s a bittersweet moment of missing all that’s changed, but being grateful that everything you loved most about her is still as true and present as ever.
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