Music Review: Icona Pop "All Night"

Icona Pop

All Night

Album: This Is…Icona Pop

Year: 2013

   Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo are enjoying their newfound wealth in the fatigued  “All Night.”

         Jaunty synths open the single, setting a zestful tone. Their black Amexes have arrived. Hjelt squees and is tempted to rip the envelope open  but is stopped by  Jawo who reaches for the letter opener. With a smooth cut, she opens it and then puts them on the table. They stare in awe, admiring how they shine in the light. Several years ago, the closest they got to the cards was a commercial. Now, they can put them in their wallets. It’s their ticket inside every hot club and high end store. Everything they’ve always wanted is now a swipe away. It’s proof they made it. It’s a life that wasn’t left to their imaginations. It was their ultimate goal. (“We always dreamed about this better life, this better life/We always thought we'd come in all along, yeah all along/We got the keys to open paradise, yeah paradise/Now let's go walking hand in hand.”)

               In the chorus, they press the key to their 2013 Porsche and head to the club. Tonight, they are going to be trendsetters in the club. On the way, they will snap photos with people and have their pictures taken. Their lives will be the ones people will follow. (“Come on baby we can hit the lights/Make the wrongs turn right/We can smash the club, make the pop go rock/With a love this deep, we don't need no sleep/And it feels like we could do this all night/We could do this all night/Yeah everything is alright.”)

           They repeat part of the first verse, adding in some of the chorus. (“We got the keys to open paradise, yeah paradise/It feels like... we could do this all night.”)

     The groggy beat snaps up, grateful for having something do as they say “we could do this all night.”

        Male admirers pursue them. Some will catch their interest.  They are the ones they will make out with in secret places. Although, it’s been a few years since their album was released and they have still have been able to afford their mansion. They have the ambition to stay in the spotlight. (“Oh when the men under the summer skies, the summer skies/The seasons changed, our house will stay the same, yeah stay the same/We got that burning feeling, start a fire, start a fire/Giving a shout, let's make it hot.”)

              The chorus is sung again.

              Part of the first verse is repeated again with some of the chorus. (“We got the keysIt feels like... we could do this all night.”)

            They repeat “feels like…we could do this all night.” Then, “all night” is said four extra times, jogging the beat awake again.

              The chorus is sung again.

             Part of the verse with some chorus is repeated again to close the single. “(We got the keys…It feels like... we could do this all night.”)

             Icona Pop’s battery-powered vocals are drained, churning out a droning hum right before becoming distorted. Despite being where they want to be, they are so bored and lack a life. However, it’s future tabloid covers and publicity they are after. The music is secondary to their lifestyle.

            The plain “All Night” overstates its smidgen of success, thinking it will last forever.