Blending nostalgic overarching conceptuality with a modern upbeat musical sensibility, Norwegian art pop sensation ST. NIKLAS has spent the majority of their life and creative career coming into themselves as an artist with terrific results. Defined by their proclivity for emotionally-driven hooks and uniquely memorable earworms, they have released a treasure trove of music over the past few years that has garnered positive attention from a worldwide audience. As they take the plunge into the next step of their musical journey, they celebrate the release of their debut full-length album “habits of a complex mind.” Upbeat and sentimentally-gripping, the record is emotionally anchored in its marquee single, “if we never met that night.” A fast-paced, pop-inspired track, the music shines as an incredible example of the direction the artist seems to be taking in their work.
The piece begins with a wave of synthetic accouterments that grow in intensity and introduce the other instrumentals of the track. The vocals appear soon after and begin the narrative direction of the music with the opening line “She said whatcha wanna do when you grow up? I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t really thought much about it, wish I had a better answer that day.” Right away, we are thrown down the emotional rabbit hole of the music and we allow ourselves to be taken by the energy of the track at the artist’s direction.
Complex in its musicality, but familiar enough to feel accessible, the single puts listeners in a comfortable headspace to absorb the weight of the music while being inspired by its tonality. Having accomplished so much with this debutant album, fans can only wait with anticipation to see what could possibly be coming from their studio next.
Written by Nick Gumas
FOLLOW ST. NIKLAS:
