Album Review: Midnight Sun by Zara Larsson

by Amanda Sykes-Quirk

'Midnight Sun' Album Cover, photographed by Charolette Rutherford

As we are entering the midsts of winter one artist is single handedly trying to pull us out of

our seasonal depression and give us a glimpse of summer. Tiktok has taken an obsession over this new-ish artist's flare for electro-dance-pop, I am talking about Zara Larsson of course. This Swedish pop diva that has taken over my for you page for the last few months, and I am not mad about it.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to last year's trends: the one with a dolphin jumping, a sunset, and the iconic riff of “Symphony” by Clean Bandit. Well turns out that angelic voice actually belonged to Zara all along. This year she has really capitalized on this vibe, rebranding into a “summer all year long” fantasy with all the bright colors and fun energy. Her breakout album, Midnight Sun, dropped last September and has completely taken over the internet.

The most iconic moment has to be the “Lush Life” dance trend. This starting by Zara inviting fans onto stage with her to perform a a cute little snip bit of her choreography from her tour. The most viral of these videos was from when she pulled a fan named “Julia Coster” onto stage with her during her stop in Amsterdam, gaining millions of views. I personally have

become addicted to doing this dance with my best friend (shout out Karolina) everywhere we go. I think I would actually die if Zara decided to take me onto the stage with her. Literally, my life would be complete.

'Midnight Sun' Tracklist

Now let’s talk about this album. I’m going to be very upfront and honest–I’m picky with my "no-skip" albums, and while I don’t love every single track (some of the slower ones don't

quite hit that "sobbing in bed to Lizzy McAlpine" level of gut-wrenching for me), the highlights are everything.

Let’s start with my personal favorite track of the album: the title track Midnight Sun.

Apart from my bias of always playing this is in the car with my best friend (shout out Nate) so of course I love it. Zara enchants us with her vocals as she sings about the all-day sun in Sweden.

The riffs in this song are beyond impressive. As a summer girl myself, I really adore this track. I highly recommend this as an introductory song to Zara if you have not listened to it yet.

“Blue Moon” is a bit slower than the majority of the songs on this album. I would say this song falls more into dance pop than it does electro pop. It is a romantic love letter to summer nights with a significant other. Think kissing under the stars, laying in the grass, just like romantic presence.

“Pretty Ugly”, the single off of this album, is a complete turn from “Blue Moon”. It is

more of a chant and less of what I traditionally think of as a song. Personally, I did not reallylove this song at first. But when I saw Juicy Love Dion and Mia Starr lip sync to this on Rupaul’s Drag Race. May I say simply iconic. That performance changed this song for me,making it not a skip.

"Eurosummer" to me sounds a little like “Try Everything” by Shakira from Zootopia (in a good way I promise). I really enjoy the 2010s Greece Summer trip with the girls vibe it gives off. It definitely stands out in comparison to the other tracks. She utilizes the accordion to give that

“euro” energy, an instrument that is not featured in anything else. The lyrics compliment these instrumentals talking about summer flings and overall summer.

The last song I would like to grace you with my opinion of is Puss Puss. First of all, the name of this song makes me giggle just a bit and feels like it would be a song by Rupaul.

However, it does not actually mean puss in the sense you may be thinking, instead it just means “kiss kiss”. This song is Zara directly talking about calling her boyfriend, and what I interpret as hating long distance. The sort of agony of only being on the phone with your significant other when you wish you were just together. I think this was a great choice to end the album with the phone call being a great send off.

Zara Larsson for the 'Midnight Sun' photoshoot, photographed by Charolette Rutherford

Whether you’re already a Zara stan or just getting into her, Midnight Sun is the perfect album to make this cold feel a little less bitter. Give it a listen and find which ones you think are “no-skips”. Please keep manifesting the 80 degree weather with me by spamming "Midnight Sun" at any chance you get!