A door slams behind you, condemning you to the chill night air outside. You sit on the porch steps and lower your head, as a pit forms in your stomach. A neon sign pours light onto the ground in front of you, and your ears catch the vapors of a song thumping from some faraway club. Your toe begins to tap in rhythm with the faint beat, and you lift your head to look at the sign: “LOVE AGAIN. LIVE AGAIN.” You start to walk, in stride, down the city strip . . .

There’s much to be said about artists that switch gears entirely, throwing themselves headfirst in a new direction in order to mine different varieties of emotions. When their music becomes so huge and overflowing with copious detail, sometimes the only thing to do is reel it all back in, focusing solely on the essential, innate elements. Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now is the newest full-length from Swedish band Niki and the Dove.

A firm departure from their previous album chock full of intricately maximalist compositions, this new release fixates on more minimal, 80’s-inspired pop consisting of warm basslines, lush synths, and tastefully restrained drum rhythms. In addition to assisting Gustaf Karlöf with writing and producing these sunkissed instrumentals, singer Malin Dahlström owns these soulful songs with her powerfully compelling voice.

Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now is about just that: heartbreak. But instead of directing the spotlight only on romance and the dissolution of it, the duo expand their thinking to a more worldly definition of the term. The group touch on the loss of innocence, the loss of care for fellow individuals, and they do so in a gutsy way, inspiring listeners to feel, to care, to fight, to live. If you’re seeking glossy, compelling pop, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)