Review Summary: "Shit just got interesting."
As an American who gets their music primarily from streaming services such as Pandora, it can be pretty frustrating to find out that a favorite foreign artist released a new album completely under the radar. This time around, it was the release of Norwegian singer-songwriter Maria Mena’s sixth studio album,
Weapon in Mind, that caught me completely off guard.
Ms. Mena had released her particularly explicit single “*** You” earlier in 2013, but I failed to notice that it had been almost two whole years since the release of her previous album,
Viktoria and a new album was growing due.
Viktoria continued a trend which began with her fourth album,
Cause and Effect, in which Mena had taken a much simpler, stripped-down approach to her music. Both albums dropped the more familiar drum beats and acoustic guitars that were native to Mena’s earlier albums in favor of more prominent placement of piano and strings and a tighter focus on Mena’s vocals.
Weapon in Mind ushers back some familiar rhythms but also introduces some unfamiliar electronic instrumentation and digital vocal manipulation.
Most of the album’s highlights come from the beginning of the album, and include the opening retrospective, “Interesting”, which marches forward into the beginning of the album with rapid piano flourishes, uptempo rhythms, and punctuating shouts.
“*** You” appears to be a stab at immature online critics and despite its lyrics being full of scorn, is surprisingly catchy with Mena’s drawn out “*** yous” thanks to some clever electronic manipulation which allows it to sprint along with the beat immediately following the chorus.
“I Always Liked That” is likely the most rhythmic and electronically-influenced track on the album, and is reminiscent of Ellie Goulding, minus Ms. Goulding’s signature rasp.
The album is not devoid of disappointments, though. The middle of the album (“I Love You Too”, “You Make Me Feel Good”, and “Caught Off Guard, Floored By Love”) is fairly dull and while it’s nice to hear more positive-sounding songs from Mena, it’s a bit grating to hear her sing so airily and high for three songs in a row.
In conclusion, Maria Mena continues to tread new ground by experimenting with music styles and while this album isn’t quite as good as her past albums, it is refreshing to hear the return of more uptempo, rhythmic music from her.
Song-by-song ratings:
Interesting ★★★★☆
*** You ★★★★★
All The Love ★★★★☆
I Always Liked That ★★★★★
Madness ★★★☆☆
I Love You Too ★★★☆☆
You Make Me Feel Good ★★★☆☆
Caught Off Guard, Floored By Love ★★★☆☆
You’re All Telling Stories ★★★★☆
Lover Let Me In ★★★★☆
I’m Only Human ★★★☆☆
You Hurt The Ones You Love (I Don’t Believe That) ★★★☆☆
The End ★★★☆☆
Album Average: ★★★(1/2) (3.6, rounding down to 3.5)
Album Recommended? Yes.
