Believer is the debut studio album by Smerz, a Norwegian music duo consisting of Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt. It was released on 26 February 2021 through XL Recordings. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.
Background Believer was produced in various remote cabins in Norway. Some of the album's lyrics were written in the woods. The creation of the album took place while the members Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt were completing degrees.
Critical reception
Ethan Reis of Beats Per Minute commented that the album is "less club-oriented than previous releases, instead incorporating more violin and classical instruments to achieve a synthesis of classical and dance music that is occasionally inscrutable." Parker Desautell of PopMatters stated, "Both lyrically and sonically, Believer is a bold, risk-taking LP that charts a wild, uneven course through trance, classical, R&B, and hip-hop." He added, "Sometimes it conjures images of the snowy Norwegian countryside, and other times it drops you squarely on the dancefloor."
Pitchfork included the album's title track, "Believer", on its list of "The Best Progressive Pop Music of 2021".
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Catharina Stoltenberg – performance, production, engineering Henriette Motzfeldt – performance, production, engineering Peder Mannerfelt – additional production (2), additional mixing (3, 6) Hallvard Braaten Steinhovden – cello (3, 5, 12) Lone Meinich – violin (5, 13) Moa Meinich – violin (5, 13) Andrea Green Novel – flute (12) Kasper Marott – additional drum programming (15) Chris Elms – mixing Joel Krozer – mastering Benjamin Barron – art direction, design, cyanotype, photography Elif Tanman – design Lotte Lovise Brøndbo – set design, cyanotype Bror August Vestbø – costume design Tina Solberg – styling Frida Stø – woodwork Vilde Krogsmyr Holberg – woodwork Jan Khur – lighting assistance Ingrid Nymoen – cover modeling
References
External links