Susanne Sundfør - "Mountaineers" ft. John Grant

Susanne Sundfør teams up with former Czars frontman John Grant on "Mountaineers," probably her spaciest track to date - with an amazing ending to boot. It's the second single from the Norwegian singer-songwriter's upcoming album Music for People in Trouble, which will be released August 25 via Bella Union.

YUNOREVIEW: FEBRUARY 2015

The magical monthly segment where I briefly touch down on a gauntlet of albums I didn't get a chance to review this past month. These are just my short, straightforward, passionate, biased opinions.

Susanne Sundfør- The Silicone Veil

Back in March, Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør released The Silicone Veil, a 10-track exercise in string-kissed, electronically influenced art pop. Above, you can stream the standout title track from the album.

One of the aspects I admire most about Susanne's music is her exploratory approach to songwriting. Rather than settling with commonplace chord progressions and unimaginative melodies, Susanne seems determined to travel to the limits of pop music's boundaries. In addition to the use of creative vocal melodies and fleshed out chords, Susanne also excels in her song structures, introducing new instrumentation at the most appropriate times in order to propel her songs forward, and executing fluid transitions between ideas. "The Silicone Veil" in particular succeeds especially well in each of these areas, building from an understated yet moving introduction to a massive, euphoric climax. In an age when underdeveloped bedroom pop runs rampant, songwriters like Susanne are highly refreshing.