ALBUM REVIEW: Heavy Metal Feelings – Rebecca Lou

REBECCA LOU has undergone something of a transformation since 2019’s Bleed; once known as a sharp embodiment of rock and roll, the Danish musician has decided to show a softer side this time around. Her new album Heavy Metal Feelings is a doom pop exposé, leaning more into heartfelt vulnerability than ferocious riffs. With a scattering of infectious anthems, this is an album that creates euphoria out of heartbreak and is guaranteed to get just about any listener off their seats and onto the dancefloor.

Opening track The Destroyer acts as the perfect initiation; a dark, prowling soundscape welcomes you in, before the atmosphere shifts entirely, dragging you up out of the gloom with a proclamation of “I’m the destroyer!”. The track gives a taste of Lou’s previously hard-edged, pessimistic soundscapes before introducing her new style: a glimmering world of uplifting, anthemic pop. This is further highlighted by following track Bad Heart, a track that takes vulnerability and turns it into something magical, with a repetitive poppy structure that has you singing along easily by the time the second chorus hits.

Lou does make a point of sprinkling a little rock and roll into the mix throughout. Capitalism Kills, for example, is practically a full-blown pop track – its gentle vocals and floating, spacious soundscape scream pop, but then a surprise guitar solo drags it back onto the heavier side.

That’s not to say the pop-heavy tracks are unenjoyable – quite the opposite. Single Lovesick is undoubtedly the most pop-tinged of the bunch, and it’s an absolute star-studded standout. The charged, synth-pop track is endlessly infectious, filling the listener with a giddy joy. It’s an irresistibility fun singalong, almost like a darker version of a FICKLE FRIENDS track.

Acoustic tracks also highlight how successfully Lou has embraced a softer sound. Best Ex-Friends is another standout, with its stripped back, hypnotically tranquil soundscape. Lou’s vocals echo gorgeously throughout the track and are totally enchanting. The vulnerability is offset by the odd sharp line – the floating atmosphere clashing with the lyric “we were bitches in a daydream”, highlighting the yin and yang of Lou’s persona.

Heavy Metal Feelings is light on the metal and heavy on the feelings. Lou has crafted a lovely, light and layered listening experience here, full of introspection as well as catchy melodies. It’s a change of direction, but a change that has been pulled off brilliantly. This is a record sure to lift people’s spirits and get them back up and moving – and we cannot wait to get stuck into the joyful chaos of Lovesick at a live show.

Rating: 7/10

Heavy Metal Feelings is set for release on October 27th via W.A.S. Entertainment.

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