AURORA Vinyl & CDs

Review: Aurora's What Happened To The Heart album is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of emotional vulnerability and resilience. With her trademark ethereal vocals and evocative lyricism, the artist delves into the depths of the human experience and ponders the mysteries of love, loss, and transformation set against a backdrop of lush, atmospheric production. Her poignant laments are both fragile yet empowering and her soaring melodies intertwine with introspective introspection of the sort that makes a lasting impact. As far as odes to the complexities of love and the enduring power of the human spirit go, you won't find many better than What Happened To The Heart.

Review: Norwegian pop singer-songwriter and artist Aurora released Infections Of A Different Kind as a two-part album originally in 2019. Owing to its grand success, it's only taken it five years to reach the status of reissue-worthy! "If there is a god, would we even know his name?... if there is a god, I think he would shake his head and turn away" is one spine-tingling tagline from the album's title track, which gets at the album's Nietzschean themes: be they the trappings of over-indulgent, coddled consumer socities; the climate crisis; or the widespread emphasis of individualism above collectivism. An album with a deeply political heart and soul, it was considered a tonal shift in Aurora's oeuvre, marking the explosive awakening she felt upon its making.

Review: Fresh from its seventh birthday celebrations, Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora's debut studio album is the perfect introduction to one of the most unique and recognisable voices of this generation of indie darlings. Casual listeners will unquestionably have their ears perk up during album opener 'Runaway', which went viral on TikTok in 2021 and continues to be the score for montages of sweeping vistas and vast ocean views from people's summer holiday highlight reels (gone are the days of holiday snap slideshows). Don't mistake this project for being a vehicle for one song however, 'Running with the Wolves' - from the EP of the same name - is similarly catchy, reminiscent of that indie-pop explosion of the late-to-mid-2010s that enabled Coldplay, Florence and the Machine and Lorde to catapult to stardom. This is the first time Aurora's debut has been pressed on coloured vinyl, a peachy off-white that reflects the bindings holding her in place on the front cover.

Review: Aurora aka Aurora Aksnes dropped a two part surprise release back in 2018 and A Different Kind Of Human - Step 2 forms the second part of it flowing the first part, Infections Of A Different Kind. It was her third album and another one that was critically acclaimed and now gets reissued. The record is more experimental than her previous work and focusses on "the ecological crisis and the consequences of the rampant individualism so prevalent in society." The record was crafted in a lo-fi space over just one month and is explosive and noisy in all new ways.

Review: Aurora's superb self-titled EP was originally put out back in 1994. It is instrumental deep house of the highest order and comes as three different mixes for different moments in the night. 'Aurora (Mare)' is first and is doused in brilliant Balearic vibes and Italo melodies. The drums hit nicely while the pads take you head up to the stars. 'Aurora (Terra)' then comes on a little stronger with some of the textured stripped put and thereat taking centre stage next to the keys, then 'Aurora (Cielo)' is a perfectly heavenly sound to close out.

Review: You may already know 22-year old Norwegian pop singer Aurora Aksnes for her rendition of Oasis' "Half the World Away" for a John Lewis Christmas advert in 2015, but if not, she's the biggest thing since Robyn. This latest record, following A Different Kind Of Human (Step 1) from last year, presents a third album to date and one that forms the second part of last year's surprise release. Fast-paced, hopeful, dancey and nordically folkal music, (Step 2) sees Aurora deliver something more experimental than before with its themes said to focus on ecological crisis and societal concepts of individualism. Syncopated basslines, staccato vocals and criss-crossing rhythms hit all the right spots in "Apple Tree" while our other pick "In Bottles" combines '90s pop sensationalism with breakbeats made to fit house tempos. Tip!

Review: You may already know 22-year old Norwegian pop singer Aurora Aksnes for her rendition of Oasis' "Half the World Away" for a John Lewis Christmas advert in 2015, but if not, she's the biggest thing since Robyn. This latest record, following A Different Kind Of Human (Step 1) from last year, presents a third album to date and one that forms the second part of last year's surprise release. Fast-paced, hopeful, dancey and nordically folkal music, (Step 2) sees Aurora deliver something more experimental than before with its themes said to focus on ecological crisis and societal concepts of individualism. Syncopated basslines, staccato vocals and criss-crossing rhythms hit all the right spots in "Apple Tree" while our other pick "In Bottles" combines '90s pop sensationalism with breakbeats made to fit house tempos. Tip!

Review: You may already know 22-year old Norwegian pop singer Aurora Aksnes for her rendition of Oasis' "Half the World Away" for a John Lewis Christmas advert in 2015, but if not, she's the biggest thing since Robyn. This latest record, following A Different Kind Of Human (Step 1) from last year, presents a third album to date and one that forms the second part of last year's surprise release. Fast-paced, hopeful, dancey and nordically folkal music, (Step 2) sees Aurora deliver something more experimental than before with its themes said to focus on ecological crisis and societal concepts of individualism. Syncopated basslines, staccato vocals and criss-crossing rhythms hit all the right spots in "Apple Tree" while our other pick "In Bottles" combines '90s pop sensationalism with breakbeats made to fit house tempos. Tip!