A star in her adopted home of Sweden, with a string of impressive collaborations (Peter Gabriel, US composer Nico Muhly) under her belt, Ane Brun is still probably best known in the UK for an incongruous vocal turn on dance hit Can’t Stop Playing (Makes Me High) earlier this year. Her sixth solo album finds her back on more familiar territory; sumptuously arranged pop songs that cast her variously as soulful crooner, 1980s balladeer, and Kate Bush-indebted force of nature. There are plenty of big tunes here and no shortage of chest-beating, but too often Brun’s lyrics bring things down with a bump, shooting for emotional sincerity but drifting into tepid platitudes.
