Swedish singer Zara Larsson is back with her third studio album, ‘Poster Girl,’ released four years after her last offering, So Good.
The timing of the release of ‘Poster Girl’ couldn’t be more spot on. With spring in the air and the promise of freedom on the horizon, this poppy, peppy album feels like a celebration. With pop and R&B influences, and something a little jazzy thrown into the mix, ‘Poster Girl’ is a real coming of age for Larsson, with songs that tell of love in all its shapes and sizes, and female empowerment.
Although she’s only 23 years old, Larsson as been working since she was 10 years old, when she won Sweden’s version of Britain’s Got Talent. Since then, she’s barely stopped, and has consistently and actively used her music to convey messages of female strength, sex positivity and the importance of loving yourself.
Opening track ‘Love Me Land‘ is a powerful string-driven anthem that showcases Larsson’s flawless vocals, and tells of the confusing and exciting feeling of falling in love when you thought you never would again. It talks of being swept off your feet when you least expect it:
“Never thought I would love again / Here I am, lost in Love Me Land / How dare you have lips like that?
Dramatic and cinematic, it’s a shame that this is a relatively short song, at just 2 minutes and 40 seconds. It could have comfortably carried on for another minute.
Tuning in to her R&B inspirations, Larsson joins forces with Young Thug for ‘Talk About Love,’ taking the album suddenly in a very different direction than expected. With so much time in between her releases, she has had a lot of time to experiment with sounds and styles and uses this to her full advantage. But despite the mix of genres explored on the album, it remains pretty coherent as a whole, held together by an underlying Scandinavian sound.
‘WOW‘ is one of the stand out tracks on the album, with sparse instruments, strong beats and vocal manipulation creating a fascinating sonic experience. Like ‘Love Me Land,’ ‘WOW’ feels too short, and every time I listen, I wish it would carry on for just a little while longer. It’s also worth mentioning the incredible live performance of ‘WOW’ that Zara did for the MTV EMAs, which showcases her brilliant dancing skills alongside her exceptional live vocals. She sure knows how to put on a show, and the live version is actually even better than the studio version.
Title track ‘Poster Girl‘ adds some funk to proceedings, with 70s disco vibes and a sound that is sure to draw people to dancefloors as soon as nightclubs reopen. The most feel-good song of the album, it’s another one that, sadly, feels like it ends just a little too soon. They always say you should leave your audience wanting more, but it does start to get a little frustrating – a little too teasing – and some of the songs sound unfinished.
The penultimate track ‘FFF‘ (Falling For a Friend) is another funky, slap bass-driven dance track, drawing the album to a close with a groove that deserves flashing lights and disco balls, and has been widely likened to Dua Lipa’s sound.
‘What Happens Here‘ closes the album, with a sound more akin to the tracks on 2017’s So Good. It is an empowering song about doing what you want to do regardless of what others think:
“Whether what happens here stays here / I’ma do it cause it’s what I want / Whether what happens here stays here / To be honest I don’t give no fucks / I just ain’t the shy type / If it feels right I’ma try it.”
It’s a strong ending to the album, a middle finger up, with Larsson firmly stating that she’s going to do whatever the hell she wants with her music, and no one can stop her.
Overall, this is an entertaining album that Zara Larsson’s fans will undoubtedly love. The scope of the songs on ‘Poster Girl’ is promising, and it’s fantastic to see her play around more with her sound and style. But the frustration of the songs being cut short makes it less pleasing, and the stand-out songs are so set apart from the others. I found myself listening to just 3 or 4 of the songs on repeat, rather than the whole album from beginning to end. It does however make me curious and excited to see what direction Zara Larsson will take her sound in the future.
