Album Review: Nina Nesbitt - 'Älskar’
Heading back to her roots, Nina Nesbitt’s brilliant album ‘Älskar’ is a celebration of life and love.
Written amidst a lockdown filled with fear, uncertainty, loss and self-reflection, the album has a bit of everything. With tender and intimate ballads as well as beats worthy of any dancefloor, Nesbitt explains that this album feels particularly special. Because so much of it was written and produced remotely through periods of isolation, the culmination of the album is a celebration of all those who worked on it and marks them coming together. The title of the album, ‘Askar’, which was taken from Nesbitt’s Swedish heritage, could not be any more fitting as it embodies everything she wants her music to convey; ‘to love’.
The album kicks off with ‘Gaol’ , track made up exclusively of snippets of dialogue all saying the same things in languages from all over the world-‘I love you’. Barely a minute long, this is not only a stunning introduction to the rest of the album but is a lovely way in which Nesbitt returns to releasing music. As you listen to the cacophony of different voices melting together and interrupting one another, you feel as though you are being smothered with a warmth and affection which has been too long missed. There is something ethereal about the music which ebbs and flows behind the dialogue; it starts with a static quality and as you hear variations on the same couple of chords the sound becomes clearer and the painful sharp noise begins to fade away. Is this perhaps a reflection of coming out of isolation and the pandemic, or is it simply artistic flair? Regardless, the impact is noticed.
The punchy ‘Teenage Chemistry’ follows and starts out with a beat that gives you little choice but start to tap your toes. While the track itself is a celebration of Nesbitt’s own relationship, the lyrics have a universal and relatable quality to them which means that the second you start listening you know exactly the feeling she is talking about.
‘I remember the way that we were flying free that summer, we were younger-there was no other that set my heart on fire-say we’ll be forever, true love here forever-like we’re still 18, teenage chemistry’
Nesbitt’s take on the ever-young love theme we have seen a few times over the years is markedly different because of how real it feels. Already the track has been likened to Katy Perry’s 2010 release ‘Teenage Dream’ but rather than candyfloss sweetness and a storyline worthy of the Hollywood cinemascreen, Nesbitt’s love has a beautifully ordinary quality to it. Whilst being incredibly tender, there is a rawness that expresses the reality of teenage romances and the way in which young lovers can barely keep their hands off one another. Rather than the manusfactured and commercial love which so much of music has covered, Nina’s is love based in real life and that is what makes the track special.
‘Pressure makes Diamonds’ is a particular high point on the album. It was one of a couple of tracks released as a single and is a wonderful mishmash of Nesbitt’s freestyle vocals against escapist and effervescent melody. AND those lyrics! The track is all about contrast and with a punchy political tone explores all the different expectations and conformities that femmes are expected to adhere to.
‘I’m just tryna make it through the bullshit flying at me-turn it into something catchy and then make it into money-Kinda tired, but I’m trying-Kinda done with the fighting-Got the heart of a lion and pressure makes diamonds’
A mammoth collaboration between Jack and Coke, SHY and Manon Grandjean, this track brings together so many talents to send across a truly important message. The music video, also an affair of many talented people, is equally brilliant as we see Nesbitt commenting on just how nuanced we all are as she takes on a range of characters, playing a host of all the ‘stereotypical women’ we see in the media.
While there are a number of highs and loud moments across the album, there are also instances where we are given the rare glimpse into the Nina behind the big instrumentals. A particular favorite is ‘I Should Be a Bird’. A real opportunity to show off her vocal talent, this track is mostly Nesbitt and her guitar and allows for her to demonstrate a vulnerability as she talks about her own insecurities and uncertainties about life. The deeply personal ‘Older Guys’ similarly reflects on loves in the past and helps to demonstrate all the growth Nesbitt has gone through over the course of writing the album. Though sad, the song doesn’t come across as bitter and instead helps to illustrate how Nina as a renewed sense of self and recognizes that the affection and love she shares with others is just as much deserving to be pushed inwards. While both explore the theme of love in different ways, the two tracks share a touching introspective feel which allow for Nesbitt to navigate through something difficult and speak her truth.
The album’s namesake ‘Alskar’ brings the album to an ethereal end. Listening through headphones doesn’t do the track justice, instead you need to listen to it blasted into a big empty space to truly be able to experience it. Soaring vocals, dreamy instrumentals and stunning lyrics, this song is nothing short of cinematic. It is the perfect choice for the end of the album not just because it leaves us ending on a high but because it has everything she has discussed over the course of the album. With light and shade as well as moments of reflection and projection, this track embodies the word from which it is derived. As she continues onto her autumn tour later on this year, this is the track that will blow your socks off.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
