Sigrid - How To Let Go

 "How to let go" is the 2nd album by 25-year-old, pop sensation Sigrid.  I've been following this Norwegian sensation she released her debut album, "Sucker Punch" back in 2019.  That was a fun filled album and propelled her into mainstream stardom which led to multiple festival appearances and millions of streams in streaming services.  It was a well-balanced album, with those wonderful feel good, up-tempo songs mixed with the slower more reflective songs. 

And really with "How to let go" she has continued where she has left off and delivered a fine, wonderful album with a cross section of songs which really work well together.  Singles "Mirror" and "Burning Bridges" are those upbeat pop tracks which will stand side by side in quality to the likes of "Strangers" and "Don't feel like crying" off her first album.  She has this swagger, carefree notion about her and it really comes across with songs like these.

The opening track "It gets dark" and "Thank me later" are other tracks which fit this mould.  I would say the most notable track on the album though is the collaboration with Bring me the Horizon.  Bring me the Horizon and especially their lead singer Oli Sykes are currently one of the most talked about bands in the world due to the quality of their albums and their every growing list of major acts who they are collaborating with.  And Sigrid has now been added to that list with the song "Bad Life".  This is an incredibly moving and emotional track which everyone can relate to, with the chorus "It's just a bad day, not a bad life".  The chorus turns that frown upside down and offers hope and the way the song builds along with Oli and Sigrid taking turns on vocals really does make this the standout song on the album.  And the reality is, this is an unusual collaboration between the Kings of metal and princess of pop, which amazingly, works so well.

There are other tracks on here which see Sigrid take a slower, more ambient approach.  For example, following "Bad Life" is the acoustic "Grow" giving a more chill out vibe.  Then closer "High note" which is a nice ballad to finish the album with.  It also has the fitting lyrics for an album to finish on "When I go, I wanna finish on a high note" and it certainly does that.  In "Dancer" the keyboards are brought out in another track which again is a slower track but one which sees Sigrid's vocals soar.

Overall, this is another very good album by Sigrid which is very much a continuation of where she left off from "Sucker Punch".  She has proven here that her first album wasn't a fluke, and she is no one album wonder.  It will be interesting to see where she goes from this.  She almost has a formula now, particularly for the upbeat tracks which I think she could continue to get the success from, or maybe it's time to explore new avenues in her sound and maybe collaborate again which is something she pulled off so well on this album.