It has been a significant year for pop artists seeking to infuse their dance music with the profound, enduring weight of womanhood. In recent months, we have witnessed emotionally charged releases from artists like Robyn and Charli XCX, among others. Now, the Swedish duo Icona Pop joins this movement with their latest project, Ritual. As the band’s fourth studio album and their first since 2023’s Club Romantech, the record finds members Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo navigating the transitions of motherhood, shifting romantic landscapes, and a return to their native Sweden.
Over the course of 28 tightly produced minutes, the duo attempts to reconnect with their artistic identity through lush keyboards and pulsating rhythms. While certain tracks lean into a nostalgic, perhaps half-hearted, nod to the “old” Icona Pop, the album’s most compelling moments occur when the title itself serves as the primary inspiration. At its best, the duo treats dance music with a near-religious fervor, attempting to imbue the genre with the healing properties they seek. At its worst, however, Ritual occasionally feels like a non-event.
The Search for Self-Ownership
The record opens with the breathy synths and artful Auto-Tune of “Hurt,” a track that evokes the atmosphere of a cinematic soundtrack as the duo processes the return of a former lover. The lyrics offer a meta-commentary on their profession: “Although you hurt me / There’s still a heart in my chest,” they croon over a spacey, evocative beat. On the title track, a sensual, humid pulse underscores Hjelt and Jawo’s efforts to reclaim their bodies following the disorienting shifts of fame and motherhood. Accompanied by Daya, the song builds into a meditation on the necessity of movement: “Do you wanna live inside your body? / You need heat, warmth, touch, you gotta dance your ass off.”
This represents a new chapter for the duo, one where dance music serves as a canvas for distinctly feminine questions of self-ownership. For Icona Pop, both the creation and the experience of this music allow them to move past their wounds. “This is my ritual, I do it to survive,” they sing over a rhythm that pulses with the urgency of an artery.
A Mixed Success
However, Ritual’s less inspired moments lose sight of this purpose, feeling more like music designed for mass consumption rather than personal catharsis. Tracks like “Butterfly Feelings” and “Cooler” lean into generic dance-pop tropes that lack the lyrical depth found elsewhere on the record. Conversely, the album’s lighter moments—such as the endorphin-heavy “Yellow Top” and the punchy, rhythmic “Mad Love”—showcase the duo’s ability to craft infectious, danceable hooks that maintain a sense of purity.
Ultimately, Ritual is a more muted affair than the brash, snarling energy of the duo’s earlier hits. While it may lack the electronic hedonism of “Weekend” or the iconic hooks of “Emergency,” it represents an admirable, if uneven, shift toward layered symbolism and contemplation. It is a record of mixed success, but one that highlights a mature evolution for Icona Pop.
