Danish superstar MØ has released her long-awaited captivating third album ‘Motordrome’ today via RCA alongside her radiant yet reflective new single and video ‘New Moon’.
‘Motordrome’ is MØ’s first body of work since 2018’s much lauded ‘Forever Neverland’ and the 10-track album is a commanding new collection of songs that combine full-blown pop with darker grungy punk alongside honest and confronting lyrics. The lead track from the album ‘New Moon’ is on the pure pop end of the scale with a triumphant chorus and direct lyrics about leaving things behind and making a new start. It’s a break-up song, but for everyone. The video, directed by London based multi-visual design duo Fa and Fon, is an intriguing visual delight and sees MØ confronting her fears head on.
She says, “New Moon is a song made to manifest a new era, a song about regaining control. To me, it’s a reminder to listen to myself, trust my instincts, and not let external forces blur my vision and get me stuck in a spiral. I hope other people get the same energy from it.”
MØ enlisted friends and long-time collaborators Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding) and Noonie Bao (Halsey, Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen) to help flesh out her original song workings, with further songwriting and production from a close circle including Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim, Vampire Weekend, Adele), Jam City (Olivia Rodrigo, Troye Sivan), S.G. Lewis (Dua Lipa), Linus Wiklund and Yangze.
‘Motordrome’s’ title came from a conversation MØ had with her mother about her battles with anxiety. The panic and intrusive thoughts called to mind the “dødstrome”, which is an old carnival trick in which a stuntperson rides a motorcycle around the vertical walls of a motordrome at death-defying speeds. The making of the album proved to be MØ’s escape from this deepening spiral, although the album is very much a document of a person-in-progress. While there is a strong sense of empowerment and of brighter days ahead, it also serves as a reminder that everyone has to deal with their own dødstrome and that there is no perfect remedy for life’s struggles, and that’s OK.
She says, “I hope that people will feel that it’s genuine and that there are stories there that they can connect with. For me this album represents a huge change in my life. Even though I’m still doing what I love doing, it does feel like a new chapter. An era of my life is over and I’m entering a new one. That is scary, but it’s freeing.”
Teasing the album with four singles so far – ’Kindness,’ a love letter to her fans, the euphoric ‘Live To Survive’ the raw ‘Goosebumps’ and the ode to her teenage crush ‘Brad Pitt’ – the full album features 6 further new tracks to make up a forward-thinking, emotional and uplifting new body of work.
