Allina - Smerz

Who is Allina? That is a question that Norwegian duo Smerz’s latest EP wishes to answer. Referring back to the archetype of the messy, scandalous popstar that was commonly found all throughout the late 90s and early 2000s in the forms of tabloid covers, unflattering TMZ pictures, and invasive Entertainment Weekly TV segments, Allina is the vessel through which Smerz uses their signature off-kilter electronic to make a mockery of the fame, sexuality, and manufactured personas that are associated with music celebrity. The result is an 8-track project – 4 full length tracks and 4 interludes – that are some of Smerz’s tightest material to date.

The last time we saw Smerz was in 2021 with the release of their debut album Believer, which was a triumph in many ways for the duo. Across the album’s 16 tracks, Smerz takes on the challenge of uniting the aesthetics and sounds of classical European music with the abrasive electronic textures of techno and drone, all paired with the lyrical stylings of RnB and hip hop. Listeners find the two digitally manipulating piano melodies and orchestra arrangements to build the instrumentals of some tracks like “Max” and “Sonette,” leaning fully into the loud and harsh with other electronic tracks like “Hester,” and combining the two – garish, pulsing synths and serene orchestral chords – to provide something truly unique in other songs, like the title track. “Glassbord” even appears to include a voice memo of a violin rehearsal halfway through the song’s more experimental, percussive instrumental. The numerous interludes that are scattered throughout Believer’s tracklist, including some modulated and warped exercises in piano and strings (“Versace Strings,” “4 temaer”) and a single rap verse (“Rap interlude”), also work in tandem with the sonic world built by the songs. They almost give off the impression that the album follows a classical musician that physically plays orchestral pieces but thinks and feels in synths and cluttered drums, resulting in the amalgam that is Believer, the mindscape of this character.

Allina sees Smerz not only continuing but also perfecting many of these narrative and aesthetic features from Believer, only, this time, they are turning away from the insular, intimate atmospheres of a classical concert hall or a sweaty hole-in-the-wall techno club in favor of the paparazzi-hounded, camera-flash-blinded, and fashion-minded Y2K popstar. The EP makes this clear with its opener, the short introductory title track, in which the character herself talks to us, how she “waited a long time for this,” for us to get the chance “to know [her] a little bit better” through these songs. Already, we can see Smerz reusing but better solidifying some elements from Believer: the interludes are much more purposeful in its grounding of the EP in the popstar world of Allina (compared to the interludes in Believer, which often meandered at certain points and were vague in what images or aspects of the world they were referring to), and the character that we are following is much more evident in Allina as opposed to the one(s) in Believer. 

The songs of Allina are also catchier, more upbeat, glossier, and lyrically riskier than many of Smerz’s past releases. They also each serve a very clear purpose in building the character of Allina, which further serves to make the EP a more cohesive and satisfactory listen all the way through. “The Stylist,” for instance, is a song that follows Allina beckoning her fashion stylist to find clothes that will make her look “more famous” and “shameless,” “casual” yet still “cute,” make her legs look longer in outfits skirts that are tighter. The bassy chorus seems to suggest that Allina will not be satisfied until the stylist themselves want her when they dress her up.

A picture of Allina from the music video for “My Producer,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC19he-6ZJI

“New Shoes” ramps up the sexuality introduced in “The Stylist” tenfold. Filled with innuendos galore and lyrics that always seem to be just a few words away from simply explicitly naming the intimate actions being described, the song presents some of Smerz’s riskiest and most confrontational writing to date. The song, preceded by the camera-shutter-filled and cacophonous interlude “Paparazzi,” is especially effective as a narrative element to the story of Allina. The sex lives of celebrities, let alone pop stars, in the late 90s and early 2000s were hot button topics that would be gossiped about and monitored by fans and other members of the public constantly (something that I would say has still continued to this day), and this era also many female pop stars experience disproportionate amounts of scandal for centering their sexuality in their work, such as Christina Aguilera with her song “Dirrty” and Lady Gaga’s outfit choices in her music videos for The Fame and The Fame Monster. “New Shoes” brings this element of the pop star persona and satirizes it, adding this voyeuristic tinge to the concept as well, for Allina seems to sound like she is not only performing and putting her sexual desires on display in this song but is also pleased to be indulging in them for her audience to consume. That all being said, “New Shoes” is still, in my opinion, one of the weaker productions on the EP, with the kick drum beat and the bass-heavy, gliding synths often ringing as a bit too repetitive at times.

After this, we move very cleanly from the interlude “Dance Rehearsal” to the EP’s lead single “My Producer.” A shameless electroclash song with a punk rock flare, the song is no question one of the highlights as we see Allina diving into the world of making music, quite literally egging her producer on during their studio session, and fully submitting to the fantasy (and, at least for her, the reality) of being a famous career musician. Even though the instrumental is mostly made up of two chords repeating over and over, it is just too catchy to truly be a flaw, especially with the hard-hitting drums, Allina’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and the rock-esque synth lead and distortion that are present in the later half.

The EP closes out with the other highlight, “Dangerous.” Reminiscent of a glossy RnB cut that Britney Spears could have released, Smerz cuts back the self awareness to provide a pop song without any of the satire: it is almost as if they are choosing to end the EP with an invitation to one of Allina’s concerts, providing an example of what she would perform at one of her shows. “Dangerous” is a very strong tune with a catchy hook that platforms Smerz’s skillfully controlled falsettos, and its lyrics sum up the topics explored in the EP very well, including Allina’s persona, sexuality, and work as a musician. Allina is “Dangerous,” but she knows you won’t quit her. In her words, “I do good and you need it.”

Allina is some of Smerz’s best work and only reaffirms and improves upon what we got to know from Believer – Smerz will always be able to build a concept, be consistent with it, and experiment, while still being able to deliver songs that’ll get stuck in your head. I recommend giving this project a try and giving Allina her time in the spotlight.

Aryan Ashraf