Label: Lojinx
Review by Ene
Nina Persson of The Cardigans fame, released her long-awaited debut solo album “Animal Heart” in January 2014. She worked on the album with her husband Nathan Larson and Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats). The album kicks off with the title track, which also worked as the lead single. The song represents the tone of the album well, setting into the mellow soundscape that is to follow throughout the whole album. Nina‘s vocals are ethereal as she sings “My ocean, my heart, anchor you to me, you can blink like a star or sink like a stone in the sea”. The lyrics are a beautiful highlight.
Another clear highlight is “Food For The Beast”. The production on most of the album is very minimalistic, but here the faster beat and the straighforward vocals deliver some variety. “Animal Heart” is a promising game opener for Nina Persson‘s solo career, but it doesn’t flow without its cons. The songs are classic Nina Persson in style of her other projects, so there’s no room for surprises for existing fans. The pros do however greatly surpass the unsurprising nature of the record. “Animal Heart”, more than anything else, is the proof that Nina Persson is still perfectly capable of delivering quality records. Here’s to the next twenty years.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist
- Animal Heart
- Burning Bridges For Fuel
- Dreaming of Houses
- Clip Your Wings
- Jungle
- Food for the Beast
- Digestif
- Forgot To Tell You
- Catch Me Crying
- The Grand Destruction Game
- Silver
- This is Heavy Metal