Swedish electropop duo Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, AKA Icona Pop, burst on to global dancefloors with their 2012 single I Love It. Exemplifying the shimmering maximalism of hyperpop, the anthemic track and their ensuing album This Is… Icona Pop launched the group as the perfect party-starters and earned them years of opening slots for pop juggernauts like Katy Perry and One Direction.
A decade on from that debut, their second international album, Club Romantech, finds the duo producing a mature sound that is darker and more propulsive. Earworming melodies are ever-present, from the scattered, melismatic syllables of piano house opener Fall in Love to the Charli XCX-style group chants of I Want You, but the rhythmic backings are far harder and faster. Standout track Shit We Do for Love soars into synth-based Eurotrance, while Stick Your Tongue Out references Benny Benassi’s early 00s electro-house; Desire, featuring Joel Corry, channels a big-room sound with its reverb-laden percussion.
