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Believer
Artist
Smerz
ReleaseProduct
Believer
Label
XL Recordings
Catalogue Number
XL1153HDDS
Release Date
February 26, 2021

Genres

After two superb EPs, a host of multimedia art projects and a monthly residency at NTS, Norwegian duo Smerz already have something of a high profile in experimental electronic music. Ironically, the relative ubiquity of members Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg only adds to the allure of their debut full-length, 'Believer' — an LP so audaciously mysterious that it makes us wonder whether we ever truly understood what they were up to in the first place.

‘Believer’ serves as a microcosm of Motzfeldt and Stoltenberg’s approach: electro-industrial textures warp across a booming R&B kick pattern, as a subtle hook invokes the darker fringes of early 2000s hip-hop to the swell of baroque strings. The mood is heavy and humid, and yet the song could easily become a key drop at any left-field club worth its salt. 'Believer' expertly tempers stylistic extremes, teetering into full rave-compliance on ‘I don’t talk about that much’ and blistering with white hot synths on the avant slow jammer ‘Max’. Sultry Destiny’s Child-esque vocals and Rihanna-like bars guide the listener through the deluge, but just when you think you’re starting to get a grip on 'Believer', Smerz throw in a curveball like ‘The Favourite’, a striking cantata with a quietly operatic power.

How Smerz manage to pull off their singular sound is beyond us. But, as their debut album’s title suggests, all they ask is that you believe.

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Digital Track List

  1. 1 Gitarriff 2:06 Buy

    Gitarriff

  2. 2 Max 4:17 Buy

    Max

  3. 3 Believer 4:12 Buy

    Believer

  4. 4 Versace Strings 2:03 Buy

    Versace Strings

  5. 5 Rain 4:14 Buy

    Rain

  6. 6 4 temaer 1:53 Buy

    4 temaer

  7. 7 Hester 4:54 Buy

    Hester

  8. 8 Flashing 2:40 Buy

    Flashing

  9. 9 The favourite 1:43 Buy

    The favourite

  10. 10 Rap interlude 0:35 Buy

    Rap interlude

Show All Tracks 17

Track List

Gitarriff
Max
Believer
Versace Strings
Rain
4 temaer
Hester *
Flashing
The Favourite
Rap interlude
Sonette
Glassbord
Grand Piano
Missy
I don’t talk about that much.

*On LP this track is split across the end of side A and the start of side B

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Smerz

XL Recordings

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R&B

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Experimental Pop and New Wave

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Limited Editions

Album of the Week

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