Verblendung Larsson Stieg

“This is like starting over for me,” Zara Larsson tells Apple music of her third studio album Poster Girl. Released four years after 2017’s So Good—the Swedish singer’s wildly successful second album—it’s a collection of disco-pop ready to raise the 2021 mood. But why the need for that clean slate? “After So Good, I felt a lot of pressure to make something even better, which can hinder you,” she says. “But after so long, it's hard to ride on the wave of that success. This is a fresh start.” The upbeat, dance-friendly production of tracks like “Ruin My Life” and “Right Here” belies more melancholy lyrics, in the great Swedish tradition of sad-banger supremos Robyn and ABBA. “That's my favorite genre,” Larsson says. “I grew up around those artists, but it was only last year that I decided to sit down and have a proper listen to the production and the lyrics. It's mind-blowing how timeless ABBA's melodies are.” Below, let Larsson talk you through Poster Girl, track by track.

"So Good" is the second studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson, and her first released internationally. The release of the album was delayed for unknown reasons other than her claim that changes were made to many of the songs. On Metacritic, the album received a score of 76 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.

The album has been called "a dance record from start to finish, fast-paced and symphonic" with no ballads and "'80s synths and R&B-influenced production". Its lyrical content "explore the best and worst parts of pop music's bread and butter: love". It was also described as "both a break-up album and a loved-up celebration of a new romance", as well as "weaving themes of unrequited devotion and sobering flits of romantic toxicity into near scientifically engineered pop songs".

The album has been called "a dance record from start to finish, fast-paced and symphonic" with no ballads and "'80s synths and R&B-influenced production". Its lyrical content "explore the best and worst parts of pop music's bread and butter: love". It was also described as "both a break-up album and a loved-up celebration of a new romance", as well as "weaving themes of unrequited devotion and sobering flits of romantic toxicity into near scientifically engineered pop songs".