I need more of this. I need more of this right now.
This was all I could think when I finished listening to “Pilgrim” the first time all the way through. Despite having only two songs in circulation and being on the mere precipice of her music career, Karen Marie Ørsted, or better known as MØ, is about to do big things. Very big things.
Considering the recent surge of popularity in the genre, it can be difficult to achieve any sort of originality in the electro-pop genre. This being said, with “Pilgrim” MØ more than admirably steers away from the often-fallen-into trap of relying too heavily on the “electro” half of the genre — her vocals can best be described as searing. She’s been repeatedly compared to Grimes with far more down-to-earth lyrics, yet I prefer to say she’s something more attune to if Santigold and dubstep got together and took a major chill pill. Relying heavily on synth and clapping downbeats, “Pilgrim” is a song with a slow build, climaxing in a fervor of the lines “All the time I just want to let go and go / All the time I just to fuck it up and say yeah.”
MØ picks things up a little but with her next release, “Maiden,” with a slightly more energized beat, yet still relies on a delectably slow build to give off the fervor of the music. In both “Maiden” and “Pilgrim” MØ uses an almost taunting tone, which is perhaps what makes the songs so appealing. Never positive exactly where she will go next, you are just sure it’s going to be good.
Let’s hope she keeps it up. I, for one, can barely stand the anticipation.