Clear Vinyl
Erika de Casier isn’t searching for perfection – she’s just trying to show you where she’s at right now. As ever, Still proves that de Casier is a master of writing songs that speak to universal experiences of modern life, even for all their specificities and quirks. If Essentials (2019) was filled with perfect songs about flirtation and new love, and Sensational (2021) added wrinkles in the form of partners who were rude and plainly annoying, Still sees de Casier writing about genuine heartbreak with a new clarity. For all the new heaviness that arises on Still - and the subtle political valence that comes alongside - de Casier’s music remains as fun and sensual as it’s always been. Still confirms that there are few artists making music that so freely slips between sensitivity and irreverence, sex and sadness. Among all the success, the accolades, the acclaim, her greatest achievement may be, simply: she’s still Erika de Casier.
All of this is to say the album is classic de Casier, her idiosyncratic mix of luxuriant electronica and moonlit R&B drilled further into that one-of-a-kind sound here. Her songwriting is as masterful and universal as ever, and her proficiency as a producer heightened as she produces other voices (They Hate Change, Shygirl, Blood Orange) for the first time. She also invites new collaborators, working with live musicians in addition to samples. N, co-producer of Essentials and Sensational, returns here, but added to the fold are Jonathan Jull Ludvigsen, Carl Emil Johansen, Niels Kirk, Christian Rhode Lindinger, Nick León, Kirsten Nyhus Janssen and Tobias Sachse, adding live drums, synths, guitar, bass and more. These musicians, as well as de Casier’s chorus of friends who sing and rap on the record, add a jolt and crackle to her world; where those first two records felt like dispatches straight from the recesses of de Casier’s brain – intimate thoughts slinking through the ether at 2am – Still feels like a conversation between friends in the backroom of a crowded bar.