Icona Pop - This is Icona Pop

This may have been a little preemptive. The act of supporting a popstar (or two, in this case) from their very grassroots level can lead to a lot of misfires, premature excitement and confusion, and the release of their self-titled debut in 2012 was - one would have naturally assumed - to be their proper debut. But no, after months of trying, I Love It became the hit it should have been from the start, and has now found Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt scrapping the old one (released just in Sweden) and setting about an international debut.

There is a bit of cheek, though, in recycling three tracks from that album onto here. I appreciate that for many, this will be their first introduction to We Got the World or Ready for the Weekend (and how magnificent those introductions will be), but it does feel a little bit cheap. Let's just hope the eight new songs somehow match up. Also, a more creative album title wouldn't have hurt, girls :(

So yeah, first of all there's 'I Love It' and if you're unfamiliar with this chunk of pop gold then I pity your existence - although I am curious as to why this is deemed cool and acceptable by outfits like Pitchfork when they either ignore or condemn similarly anthemic and equally only half self-made EDM from Ke$ha. Granted, the single is better than anything she's done, but only marginally. It's immediately followed by this album's first new single 'All Night', immediately another mantra-touting ("we don't need no sleep!") snowball effect of big hooks, big dance moments and happiness. Indeed, by the time 'We Got the World' is up and running some of us old-timers (and I'm only 23) might need to have a bit of a sit down away from all of this energy and optimism - this track's a little more screechy and synth-heavy than its predecessors, but no less catchy or raucous. Shriller and louder still is the cobweb-clearing 'Ready for the Weekend', which may just veer a little over the line between pop gold and Guetta irritance (Hjelt and Jawo are inaudible and drowning), it's not their best effort.

When they vie for clear, well-defined and polished pop they're at their best: their reinterpretation of Jay-Z's Bonnie & Clyde '03 on 'Girlfriend' is a clean, cute endorsement of the power of friendship put through punchy lyrics and another of those backings that're destined for private bedroom Dancing On My Own (a la TV show Girls) moments. The concentration on building melodic vocal hooks makes 'In the Stars' and 'On a Roll' - the latter of which is just a ridiculously catchy series of do-do-do-dos - so accomplished, and the minor touches, such as the addition of police sirens, only helps build an atmosphere of unstoppable, youth-in-revolt craziness. And there's something of a potential grower in 'Light Me Up': the album's most bubblegum moment with a slow clapping beat and high-pitched vocals.

Weaknesses on This Is... are rare but stick out like sore thumbs: the lyrics are a little bit questionable at times (but that can be forgiven of a pair of girls for whom English is a second language, surely? Considering what passes for pop lyrics with the woman I reviewed before this) - I can't quite get my head around "Hiding underground with the cool kids/ I just choose to not wanna choose this" on the low-key 'Just Another Night', and the breakup melodrama of 'Hold On' isn't quite executed with as much drama and interest as the emotions on the flipside of the Icona Pop coin, but both are enjoyable enough. It's just that, when pit against the high-octane replay value of the punchy closer 'Then We Kiss' (another strong candidate for their best song), they fail to shine as much.

Exhausting brilliance, but brilliance.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: All Night; I Love It; In the Stars; Girlfriend; We Got the World; Then We Kiss
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: I'm sure some darker corner of the internet will speculate this to be a satanic symbol.
Up next: London Grammar