Epic Records

Release Date: December 1st 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Zara Larsson– Honor The Light (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. Memory Lane
2. Winter Song
3. Silent Night
4. Light A Candle
5. Tänd Ett Ljus {Light A Candle)
6. Sankta Lucia

I think I’ve said this once, but I’ll say it again. COVID-19 has completely derailed the plans of probably everyone in the whole world ever since early last year. Wanting to go on an overseas trip? Can’t because of COVID. Wanting to go to the movies? Can’t, because of COVID. Wanting to have a big birthday bash party with a gazillion people and a big pool and a barbecue? Can’t, because of COVID. There’s lots of things that COVID-19 has disrupted- and even though right now places are starting to open up a tiny bit- and even though things are getting back to normal (or should I say the new normal?), there’s still hesitation. I mean, why wouldn’t there be- the vaccine is out but is it effective for everyone across the whole world? For everybody who is unsure and would rather stay at home until we can all gain some semblance of control, or even for those of us who are eager to get out there in the world, but are also apprehensive as to how to interact with the world after spending so long away… well we all need inspiration and encouragement, am I right? We all need something to lift us up and be the catalyst for that extra spring in our step every morning, right? Well as much as I reckon we should all listen to Demi Lovato’s Dancing With The Devil: The Art Of Starting Over; that hard-hitting, moving and emotional album is immensely heavy and maybe not suitable if you just want to dance and jam and have fun. For during COVID-19 if you want to move your feet and temporarily toss your worries aside, then let me say look no future than Zara Larsson’s Poster Girl, which released last month.

A Swedish pop star who really burst on the scene with the smash hit and Clean Bandit collaboration “Symphony” in 2017, I literally knew nothing of Zara and her music as I took a risk and stepped outside of my comfort zone. I knew I wanted to stretch myself musically, so I went off me resonating with “Symphony” and extrapolated that with Zara’s latest album Poster Girl. The result is me thoroughly enjoying a pop album- and though some songs have messages that aren’t as hard hitting nor inspiring as others; the album overall is solid, and I definitely would recommend to anyone wanting to have a ‘soundtrack’ album for dancing, or just to put on in the background and unwind. 

2021 when the world shut down during I reckon the 2^nd or 3^rd most highly publicised COVID strain, was when I branched out the most in terms of listening to music I wouldn’t normally, and allowing God to speak to me through avenues where I hadn’t given Him the chance to. The result was one time a few years ago listening to and reviewing Zara Larsson’s Poster Girl, and though the album was ok- it was fun and bouncy and hopeful and positive during a bleak and dark time; I personally wouldn’t go and seek out an album by Zara just to buy it. It’s a fun album to be heard in the background, but am I eagerly anticipating Venus? Ummm… no? I mean, I’ll listen to it when it released, but I reckon what listening to Poster Girl reminded me of, was that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, and you also can’t go so in deep with an album or a movie or a TV show, and love it to bits, just because of a certain artist or actor or writer or… fill in the blank. It’s called ‘hero worship’ where you’re putting the person on a pedestal instead of admiring the art for what it is instead. And it is with this rambling that I can say that Zara’s holiday EP Honor The Light, isn’t really a fun and light Christmas album. but rather, according to itunes, it is a compact EP of seasonal songs to celebrate Sweden’s traditional Lucia festival, which commemorates the legend of Sankta Lucia (Saint Lucy) with a candlelit procession. Larsson forgoes the usual holiday trappings here – twinkling chines, jingle bells, effusive cheer – alternating between warm ruminant chords and icy, minimalist orchestration for her fresh takes on some old classics. Could Honor the Light be a collection of songs if Scrooge or The Grinch made them, if they seem to be devoid of cheer and Jesus? Perhaps. But it is an interesting EP nonetheless- not something I would gravitate to though at first listen.

“Memory Lane”, the EP’s only original track, is Zara reminiscing about her past and the choices that she has made into being to person she is today, and the realisation that she wouldn’t change a thing, no matter how messy her life was, because it gave her the strength and character she has possessed throughout the many years since. It’s not a Christmas song, but given that Christmas is situated at the end of the year, this is the kind of melody to listen to and think about all your what ifs and regrets before the New Year so that you could make amends before you reset and turn over a new leaf. New age belief? Maybe. In the sense of dusting yourself off and being a different person on January 1^st, the new calendar year which is a human invention. Regardless, this melody is poignant and thought provoking and asks us the question of who we were, who we are and who we want to be. “Winter Song”, a cover originally recorded by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, is a melancholy song to sing in the winters of your own life, and is a song to sing for the person who feels like Christmas doesn’t mean anything positive and happy and bright anymore, with Zara crying out ‘…they say that things just cannot grow, beneath the winter snow, or so I have been told, they say we’ve buried far, just like a distant star, I simply cannot hold, is love alive? Is love alive? Is love alive?…’. A 1 and a half minute sombre and reflective interlude of “Silent Night” follows, while “Light A Candle”, the traditional pop Swedish carol originally recorded in 1987 as “Tänd ett ljus“, is brilliantly recorded by Zara here. The Swedish version “Light A Candle” follows, as well as the traditional song “Sankta Lucia”, and rounds out a solid and quite interesting seasonal release.

On the whole, Zara’s Poster Girl from 2021, is an album that challenges us, that reminds us of a lot of issues that aren’t talked about often enough- abusive relationships, drug addiction, the need for love vs the want for love, and the notion of taking risks in general. It’s a pop album with a message, and Zara needs to be commended for this energetic and hopeful effort. Poster Girl hasn’t turned me into a Zara Larsson fan (the same can be said for this Christmas release… but it does make me curious as to the rest of her career going forward. Mainstream pop like Zara’s music still isn’t in my wheelhouse, but can I say well done Zara for somehow gaining all of my attention for the duration of the album? and gaining and maintaining my attention for this Christmas EP? And as for all of you, can I say listen to this project and make your own decision? Now how about an acoustic album or a live album next? Or a full length Christmas album?

3 songs to listen to: Memory Lane, Winter Sing, Light A Candle

Score: 4/5

RIYL: Sabrina Carpenter, Julia Michaels, Echosmith, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, Maroon 5