Icona Pop | The Music Ninja

[Indie/Pop] Peter Bjorn and John – High Up (Take Me To The Top)

Peter Bjorn and John
High Up (Take Me To The Top)

“Over the moon” is how indie pop masters Peter Bjorn and John said they felt releasing their first new original material since Gimme Some came out four long years ago, and that’s exactly where ‘High Up (Take Me To The Top)’ will bring you as well.

This soaring tune is propelled by off-kilter percussion reminiscent of their 2009 LP Living Thing, but is perhaps a sign of things to come as it stemmed from “forthcoming album-sessions” co-written with Patrick Berger, who is best known for producing artists including Robyn and Icona Pop.

‘High Up’ has been released on the Stockholm-based artist collective and record label INGRID, which Peter Bjorn and John co-founded along with fellow Swedes Lykke Li and Miike Snow, among others, and the track is featured on INGRID Volym 2, a Record Store Day exclusive double-LP of which there are only 500 copies.

[Electro-pop] Icona Pop – I Love It

By now, it almost goes without saying that the European electro-pop scene has been releasing singles that are miles ahead of their Stateside competition. Back in 2004 we were blown away by Norway’s Annie, with her track that managed to score 17th on Pitchfork’s Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s, and their eastern neighbors, Sweden, have been consistently blowing us away with acts like The Tough Alliance, Robyn, and The Knife. Looking to join their ranks (and, in my mind, quite successfully at that), are Icona Pop—a female duo that have hooks strong enough to pull fucking Moby-Dick out of the ocean.

While the duo has been releasing singles for the past year or so, “I Love It” is something completely different from their previous body of work. It’s bombastic, it’s fun, it’s completely entrancing. The driving drumbeat and synth-bass are enough to get anyone’s head bobbing, but the harmonies—which are reminiscent of last year’s FM Belfast release—are absolutely intoxicating, thanks to the lyrics that were thoughtfully penned by Britain’s Charli XCX.

’Icona Pop – I Love It’

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