MØ’s ‘Motordrome’ is a tight 10-track exploration of burnout, nostalgia and renewal. And while its 1980s-flavoured grooves often hit their marks, the record doesn’t quite land the knockout blow one might have hoped for from the Danish superstar.
That said, there are some wonderful moments here. The low-slung digital toe-tapper New Moon is a squawky disco break-up song that feels fresh, clearly channelled and immensely radio friendly. It lands somewhere between the pitch perfect grooves of Robyn and Kylie, but underpinned with a certain icy Scandi noir.
Kindness is another absolute banger. A string riff provides the basis for intricate, natty pop music with rimshots and earwormy vocal melodies—a bit like if Annie Lennox’s Walking on Broken Glass was re-envisioned as reggaeton.
MØ is at her best when her voice is making strange contortions and textures, elevating potentially bland lyrics to mystical, often digitally-enhanced siren songs. When she carries it off, the effect is bewitching and hugely distinctive, and ‘Motordrome’ has some truly memorable moments.
There is some pretty pedestrian stuff here too, though. Live to Survive is ‘80s synth pop by the numbers, while Brad Pitt is a decent enough song about her teenage crush, but does not quite have enough going on to live long in the memory. The guitar solo is a bit of a missed opportunity—not quite delivering the interstellar overdrive that could have been hoped for, while bringing the outmoded pomposity that has seen them all but disappear from modern pop.
If there is a conceptual problem with ‘Motordrome’ it's that it doesn't quite own its ‘80s influences as much as it could. The best recent examples of this are Jessie Ware’s ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ and Bat for Lashes’ ‘Lost Girls’, both of which did the throwback pop thing with greater decisiveness while spilling into being standalone concept albums. ‘Motordrome’ is a decent record, but it's competing in a tight pack, and doesn't quite carry the courage of its convictions.
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