Smerz, Believer (2021)

Smerz is a Norwegian group of two (Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt) that in their words, ‘carefully deconstruct pop’. The deconstruction of music is the essence of this album. Smerz takes apart aspects of music and emphasizes some of the most complex pieces, and makes them simple. Believer plays with textures that are simple and familiar but remain dramatic and theatrical, which captivates me. Opening with Gitarriff, is ease into a gorgeous album that weighs heavy on sound art (in my opinion), with chimes constantly swaying over a heavy, simple guitar beat. Leading into Max, a slow synth hesitantly plays over relaxed vocals until a splintering synth charges through and dominates the moment. The title track, Believer, is one of the most fascinating songs on this album, a sweltering synth sweeps over a heavy drum beat accompanied by eerie strings and more relaxed vocals. Following this track is Versace Strings and 4 temaer, both a gorgeous play of textures through sound that almost sound like a video game soundtrack which remains consistent throughout the album. If I could describe this album in a few words, it would be dark orchestral-theatrical-Avant-pop (lol). In my own practice, I find inspiration from this body of work by the use of texture in sound as well as its structure. This album is complex but still has simplicity in each piece.