SEGL

The ninth full-length effort from the Faroese star, Segl is the first set of new material from Eivor Palsdottir since broadening her international appeal with her stunning vocal work on the Jonn Lunn-penned score for the popular BBC historical drama series The Last Kingdom. The official follow-up to that soundtrack and the English-language version of her hit 2015 effort Slor, Segl sees Eivor dial back a bit on the shamanic chants, shield-maiden war cries, and kinetic frame drumming and deliver a set of icy, inward-looking Europop. Commencing with the glacial Manasegl, the first of three tracks performed in Eivors native Faroese, Segls big pop moment arrives early on with Let It Come, a widescreen synth pop stunner that evokes Kate Bush by way of spell-casting Scandinavian contemporaries Susanne Sundfor and Jonna Lee (iamamiwhoami). The club-ready Nothing to Fear follows suit, veering into Eurovision territory with a cavalcade of hard-hitting earworms, but an overabundance of cinematic ballads, including the limp Only Love -- a duet with Icelandic singer/songwriter Asgeir -- frequently kills the momentum. Segl works best when it allows Eivor the room to ply her otherworldly wares, which she does with significant aplomb on the evocative Skyscrapers and Stirdur Saknur, the latter of which features a guest spot from fellow Norse history enthusiast Einar Selvik from the nordic-folk ensemble Wardruna. Both tracks should satisfy listeners who discovered her vocal prowess via The Last Kingdom or the video game God of War, but Segl proves that Eivor belongs as much in the realm of pop music as she does the battlefield. ~ James Christopher Monger