The Norwegian singer-songwriter makes promising LA debut with a sold-out show at the Resident DTLA.
When I first heard Anna Of The North, I was immediately drawn to the cool, wintry soundscapes and dreamy synths that the Norwegian artist was creating.
In her single "Someone," singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud writes about the feeling of warmth and desire for a connection with someone.
The track beams with bouncy electronic synths and drumbeats that explode in euphoria. It's infectious and incredibly listenable. She embraces the internal struggle we all may feel at one point in our lives, where we want to feel connected, understood and known by someone — lover or not.
The Oslo-based singer-songwriter has created soft, atmospheric beats with soul-baring lyrics on love and despair through a relationship that falls apart. The warmth of the sold-out crowd felt at her first show in Los Angeles was a clear indicator of her coming success.
Anna's debut Lovers is an impressive body of electro-pop singles that each stand out and progress from track to track.
In album opener "Moving On," the quiet build-up of the cool airy reverberating guitars and tight drumbeats are cool and collected; and when she seems to let listeners in on the heartache one may feel through a heartbreak, she ensures, "Darling, I know, sometimes it's hard to take / Believe me, I know, you're gonna make it through the day." It's the perfect introduction to a collection of songs that detail the messy, insecure and complicated feelings that often come with love.
For a new artist on the rise, Anna's 10-track album (with producer Brady Daniell-Smith) blends the best of dream-pop with lyrics that bite just a little more than we're used to hearing. Her soft and airy voice fits perfectly in pop, yet bares a little more heart and soul with a sense of conviction.
"Money," a forewarning track where Anna calls someone to watch out for a girl who doesn't want you but just wants your money ("Don't want your baby / Don't want your love / She just wants your money, honey, open up") is a fun, euphoric synth-pop track that shows Anna calling someone out.
Anna initially hit the scene when she released her debut single "Sway" in 2014, which became an instant hit and landed her a record deal with Honeymoon in the US; the Chainsmokers then released their official remix of "Sway" that September.
For the fairly new artist, her collection of alt-pop ballads are refreshing, deep and incredibly self-aware. Though electronic beats and synths seem to find its way into all pop today, Anna's very intimate and revealing songs on love and losing love are refreshing — breathy vocals meet electronic beats that make you feel good and groove, yet pained by the echoey, mysterious and soft soundscapes.
The single, which also got mainstream attention from being featured in the 2018 Netflix film To All The Boys I've Loved Before, is a dynamic indie-pop track that feels ready for the radio, but also carries a sense of emotional depth and maturity that makes it a special find.
For her first headlining show in Los Angeles, Anna was all smiles, and had good reason to be: fans were hooked on every last word and dreamy pop beat that filled the room; they escaped into their own realities with her infectious synth-pop ballads; and she was equally grateful to have sold out her first Los Angeles show — a feat that does not go unrecognized and only shows a promising future.
For her one-song encore, Anna performed a stripped down version of "Baby" — an appropriate break from her three-piece live band set.
As Anna just finished opening up on a North American tour for indie-pop boy band sensation LANY, we can only look forward to what Anna will release next. Her percussive elements, dream-pop synths and cool guitars all contribute to her own kind of signature lovestruck Scandinavian sonic universe, and Anna of the North's live performance made for a humbling discovery of why I was drawn to her in the first place, and why she will be here to stay. This is only the beginning.
Follow Anna Of The North on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This article is featured on Blurred Culture.