MØ - Plæygirl

Three years since 2022’s ‘Motordrome’ - on which she channelled a bold reinvention - and a decade on from debut full-length ‘No Mythologies To Follow’, MØ’s fourth album presents the Danish alt-pop powerhouse at a curious crossroads. Throughout, a tension rumbles between the dark pop sound that so perfectly suits both her vocal and vibe, and the looming presence of that all-conquering radio smash in her back catalogue. The former is best showcased via the dancefloor melancholy of ‘Without You’, as well as the analogue-leaning title track. Meanwhile, it’s the arguably less potent parts - ‘Knife’ bears a notable similarity to Tomcraft’s 2002 single ‘Loneliness’, but without the punch; and both MØ and guest Biig Piig could be substituted without great impact on ‘Sweet’ - which seem to have been designed with the latter in mind. 

Similarly, the use of The Knife sample on ‘Who Said’ is an unfortunate miss, the track’s cutesy chorus clashing rather than contrasting with the sad banger instrumentation. Still, despite these inconsistencies, there are some stellar moments: ‘Keep Møving’ channels both Pet Shop Boys’ ‘In The Night’ (more specifically, the version used for BBC TV’s The Clothes Show in the ‘90s) and Peaches’ dancefloor command: it’s infectious, fun and hints at punk attitude (and provides a visual pun to rile up her fellow Scandinavians). Elsewhere, penultimate track ‘Heartbreaks’ is pure clubby euphoria, with just enough of MØ’s now-signature sound palette to cap the record off in style. The choice to include her cover of Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ following this does present a rare argument in favour of bonus tracks - it’s fine, but the flow is dampened somewhat. Strangely for a record titled ‘Plæygirl’, too much here feels like work, its over-thinking taking away from what has made MØ a singular presence in her decade to date.