Visions

In 2022, alternative pop singer Alice Merton delivered S.I.D.E.S., a sophomore LP recorded with "Koz" Kozmeniuk (Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa) that charted in the Top 30 in her native Germany. It was released on her own Paper Plane Records in conjunction with Mom + Pop Music. Recorded at Floki Studios in Iceland, the follow-up, Visions, was co-produced instead with Jennifer Decilveo (FLETCHER, SASAMI) and is her first album to be released fully independently. In line with this signal of self-reliance, while Mertons music has always been confident and anthemic in nature, she sounds more self-assured than ever here. A song like "Mirage" lands on its soaring chorus within 30 seconds, amid lyrics about being in love with the dream, even if it makes her a fool ("As I come to the edge of hope and despair/Screaming, Start the engine"). Similarly, "Ignorance is Bliss" is all about ignoring the noise and taking chances. Co-written by Bastilles Dan Smith and others, that song kicks off the album with an appropriately energizing doubled bass riff and tribal-like chanting by Merton. Tribal elements return on tracks including "On the Wire," which is underscored by unison pounding drums. If theres a more reserved entry on Visions, its the sparer "Landline," a jaunt down memory lane that still doesnt qualify as a ballad. She works in elements of rock as well here, including on the rousing "Joyriding," a fusion of pop and dance-rock. Throughout, Visions is reliably both musically and lyrically motivational, right up through the closer, "Treasure Island," which encapsulates the albums premise with "Said Id never find it/But Im not a quitter/Im still the same fighter inside." ~ Marcy Donelson