I’ve met Dagny … she’s the funny, self-deprecating, bubbly young woman, with whom I spent an hour chit-chattering before cajoling her into posing for a daft photo in the foyer of the Clarion hotel in Trondheim.
That was back in a snow-ridden February, just before she was due to play to her live set as part of the Trondheim Calling Festival. The Norwegian popstrel wasn’t feeling 100%. Her throat was a little scratchy. She made herself a hot drink and went up to have some quiet time in her bedroom.
Three hours later she blew the sox off a capacity crowd sardined into the massive glass menagerie that is the Rockefeller venue, with a kick ass performance that had them screaming their appreciation and baying for more.
She was going to the States she told me, to work with some top liners, producers, other musicians, play some lives, shoot the breeze, soak it all up, #livethedream. It was all hopefully gonna kick off for Dagny before the end of the year.
Now here we are in September, the sun is getting low in the sky and the evenings longer. What better way to transition from the azure days of Summer (what Summer?) to the hazy shades of Autumn with the sun-soaked, rainbow hued pop songs of Dagny’s debut EP, ‘Ultraviolet‘.
Five nuggets of pure pop gold, ‘Ultraviolet’ has had UK music media in its thrall since its release a few days ago. We’re thinking especially of PopJustice Ed in Chief, Peter Robinson, who’s been raving about it with a capital R!
This bouquet of punchy pop kicks off with a retro-vibing, beat-tastic bamarama. With its guitar licks carved out of the ’70s and a melody dug up out of the garden of Now That’s What I Call The ’80s, ‘Fight Sleep’ is what you might expect to hear if legendary singer/songwriter Cathy Dennis, she of Kylie mega-hit ‘Can’t Get You Outta My Head’ fame, was to do a disco remix of tub-thumper ‘War Baby’ (just don’t tell TRB!).
Dagny has a strong voice and carries this weighty track well, but, and this is just a personal observation, maybe the vocal would be served better with a little less of the accentuated end of line upticks!
Lead track ‘Ultraviolet’ is the perfect ‘getting ready with the girls before a night out‘ anthem. Rife with ‘all American’ rock riffs and rollin’ percussion, this is the kind of number the Pinks of this world do so well, and, which the US of A, home of all things rock-pop with a danceable pulse, buys by the Platinum-coated bucket load. This is slick, strobe-lit, high-school pop, and with its upbeat, ‘oh-so-memorable’ catchy hooks, ‘Ultraviolet’ should have gaggles of teens and tweens everywhere reaching for their hairbrushes.
Mid-stream finds us in Taylor Swift/Ariana Grande territory with the pure pop beats of ‘Too Young‘, a track that sees Dagny show a more youthful, lighter side to her oft smoky vocal. This hands in the air head-bobber, is pure iridescent spinning disco ball. An NRG driven sing-along that will demand you dance your ass off to its compelling gold-plated melody lines and pulsating beats.
Next up, it’s the big one. ‘Backbeat’, the track that propelled Dagny’s into the world of mainstream pop and etched her name in the minds of Euro-pop-media. Released in late 2015, it lingers long with its infectious OHs and speed of light handclaps, hyperactive drumming and driving guitars. An instrumental winner wrapped around shimmering synth loops, it’s enriched by an intense vocal delivery, and yeah ok, we have those Dagny upticks again, but in this instance, they kinda work.
To be fair, I guess when you’re starting out and trying to be remembered, you need to nail an evo-stick trademark. I get it guys!
The EP finale comes in the form of flamboyant, ‘Fool’s Gold. A sparkling stunner of a pop diamond, it’s fuelled by a propulsive mid-line of synth wrapped guitars and blood pumping percussion. If this doesn’t get your toes tapping, head nodding and hips swinging then see a doctor about getting your pulse checked, as it’s quite probable that you’re dead.
With 5million plus streams on Spotify, it’s a class A pop rocket. A turbo charged stomper that perfectly book-ends this blast of an EP.
If multi-coloured, heart stoppin’, summer lovin’, fluorescent, pure unadulterated pop is your thing, then Dagny‘s music is for you. Five star recommendation for teens, tweens, popstrels, party girls, girls who just wanna have fun, boys who like girls who like boys, and high heeled, sequin swept, glammed up disco queens. Do It!
Dagny’s ‘Ultravoilet’ EP is available to buy, stream, download via all the usual digital channels, links here.
Music/iTunes:http://republicrec.co/DagnyUltravioletEP
Music/Apple:http://republicrec.co/DagnyUltravioletEPAM
Google Play:http://republicrec.co/DagnyUltravioletEPGP
Amazon:http://republicrec.co/DagnyUltravioletEPAZ
Spotify:http://republicrec.co/DagnyUltravioletEPSP
dervswerve 