Album Review: Icona Pop - Iconic EP

Icona Pop
Iconic EP
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Swedish DJ/electropop duo Icona Pop, made up of Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjel, have garnered buzz from their ridiculously catchy singles, and while we await their full length debut set for release some time in 2013, they have thrown out this teaser EP Iconic to whet our appetites. It is a perfect encapsulation of their style and aesthetic, and while it won't shake the earth off its axis, it is diverting set of tracks that definitely paves the way for more to come. A significant improvement over their first EP Nights Like This, Iconic, while never subtle or low-key, is brash, catchy, and an interesting bratty twist on Ace of Bass style pop, adding a fresh sheen of electro-pop and dubstep elements to the mix.

Iconic leads off with the brilliant summer smash "I Love It" co-penned with goth-pop chick Charli XCX, a furious electro track that is all drop and no filler, it is the ultimate kiss off song with lyrics like "I crashed my car into the bridge/I watched and I let it burn/I put your shit into a bag/and pushed it down the stairs/I crashed my car into the bridge/I don't care/I love it."



The rest of the tracks, which sadly don't reach the highs of "I Love It," are still excellent pop tracks with an empowered side to them, the girls not willing to let their men get in the way of them having a good time, or let them off without some snide comments. The bouncy "Good For You" wonders why a one-night stand has such an emotional attachment, singing "You laugh my love, you're never gonna' find better love/
(and I don't want you to)/You hate my love 'cause you're dead without it."



"Top Rated" is frothy, synth driven pop that puts her man in his place, "Try to take me down/I'll be right up/'cause you aim too low/And I've had enough."



The EP is fleshed out with the robotic synth pop of "Manners," pop/R&B/rap hybrid "Sun Goes Down," and the dubstep influenced party anthem "Ready For The Weekend."



All in all, Iconic is an enjoyable little stop-gap until their full release next year. As long as they continue to improve on their sound as shown here, I have a feeling it is going to be one of the better pop releases of the year.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.