Norway-based Mall Girl’s debut album Superstar is the musical equivalent of taking a satisfying sip
of a Fanta Fruit Twist on a hot July day. It’s prominently a light, airy album; most of the songs here
run between 2 and 3 minutes, they’re short bursts of shiny pop-rock that cover a spectrum of topics from life’s rich tapestry. In fact, a handful of the songs here take this sunny aesthetic to a literal end, with ‘Bubbly Cool Drink’ and ‘Poolside Person’ both conjuring a lyrical fantasy of summertime escapism.
This optimistic feel is an endearing way to begin your career anyway, but Superstar is made
distinctive by incorporating busts of proggy, math-rock sounds into its otherwise laid-back palette. Superstar is an album that emphasises its message by providing a contrast: stand-out track ‘Lilies’ Dew’ begins with a flurrying guitar shred that doesn’t sound too dissimilar from a Black Midi cut, before it dissipates, and a colourful indie-pop sound bursts out of its remains. ‘Think About It’ works from the same playbook, opening with a gritty, rocky intro before transforming into a breezy chorus, where lead Bethany Forseth-Reichberg’s vocals float coolly over a toned-down tune.
Often on Superstar, when the musical intensity turns up, it cuts away before things get too heavy,
back to a serene, mellow landscape instead. With its lyrical meditations on the ups-and-downs of love and life too, the end result is that Superstar sounds like a sonic encapsulation of the complex feelings of being 20-something, with a promise that things will be okay. Lyrically, this is best exemplified on ‘Dance Alone’, where Mall Girl sound lonely and yearning, but the track similarly has a romantic, warm air about it too. Forseth-Reichberg repeats ‘dance alone, with me’ on the chorus; it’s a lyric that implies vulnerability, loneliness, but hope too. Two people alone together aren’t really alone at all: out of the darkness of loneliness, something brighter can appear.
Truthfully, while it often pays off, this dichotomy between sounds can sometimes feel like Mall Girl
are still figuring out their ultimate sonic identity as a band. However, it’s fair enough for a band on
their debut to not have everything completely figured out, and if you follow the cheery logic of
Superstar, you’d agree they’ll get there in the end anyway. For now, Superstar is a promising start;
Mall Girl come across as a band at least willing to take risks, to experiment with a patchwork of
sounds in order to sell their vision of life’s various outcomes. Even on days muted by bleak British
weather, Superstar’s summery disposition cuts through; it’s sunshine in a bottle, so you may want to drink up.