Dagny delivers consistently good pop.
True to the track record of Scandinavia as a whole, the Norwegian singer-songwriter’s provided buoyant, euphoric synth-pop earworms for the past few years now. Certifiable Bops™, if you will. And, for the Katy Perry Smile enthusiasts, you’ll recognize her work on “Never Really Over,” which interpolated Dagny’s own “Love You Like That.”
Ahead of the release of her debut album Strangers / Lovers, due out on October 2, Dagny dropped her latest single “It’s Only a Heartbreak” on Friday (September 4).
The upcoming record is divided into two halves, tracking the trajectory of a romantic relationship, from the blossoming to the breakdown – just in time for that autumn goodbye.
The first half includes previously released tracks like “Come Over,” “Coulda Woulda Shoulda” and “Somebody” (an absolute should-be pop classic), while the latest release represents the first offering from the breakup section. But don’t worry: it’s only a heartbreak.
“Most days I wake up, I’m okay / I’m doing my own thing, I don’t have a moment to think about you / Most days I’m up on a high wave, And I’m just like urgh, it’s only a heartbreak, I got to get through you,” she casually and quickly coos along the bouncy track, which feels as frantic as someone eagerly finding things to distract their brain from thinking about them…like, say, watching a movie.
“‘It’s Only A Heartbreak’ is actually partly inspired by the classic movie Casablanca from 1942, and Humphrey Bogart‘s famous quote: ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’ Like the movie, the song is about knowing that you will never get someone back, but you can secretly still look at, and admire, that certain someone. The song carries a nonchalant expression, but the undertone makes it pretty obvious that you’re not over that person yet,” Dagny says of the song’s inspiration.
The track was co-crafted by Dagny, Celine Svanbäck, Cutfather (of Kylie‘s “Get Outta My Way” fame, among many others) and Jeppe London Bilsby.
“It’s not that I want it all back, but I’m just like, hmm / Do you get flashbacks and think of me too?”
There’s a healthy amount of self-awareness in each springy step of the production (even if those pesky human emotions get in the way sometimes), and that trickles down to her attitude of gratitude regarding the record as well, which has been in the making for five years.
“I need to try and not think too much about what this album is going to do, but remember how it all happened, the good times we had making it, the people I met while making it, the emotions that I tried to convey and whether I feel good. It needs to go and live its own life,” she says.
It’s only a heartbreak. It’s only an album release. Regardless, here’s hoping for the absolute best outcome in both of these scenarios.
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Photo credit: Sandrine & Michael
