This month I’m featuring my top 20 albums of the past decade, to celebrate 10 years of This Must Be Pop! Click here to see all the Decade of Pop posts so far.
Scandinavian artists make up eight of my top 20 albums of the past decade, and In Orbit is a great example of what I see as Sweden’s poptastic peak. There was a period in the mid-2000s where I could have easily survived on Swedish music alone, without needing music from any other countries, and apart from the odd burst of Girls Aloud I pretty much did. September is one of the artists who exemplified why the Swedes do everything better, whether it’s rock, hip-hop, or in this case dance.
September’s music is dance-pop, but unlike the chart dance music that was successful in the UK at the same time, her songs had structure, strong choruses and inventive production. They were pop songs to dance to, not just dance songs that were popular. In Orbit is my favourite of September’s albums because it features some of her best songs, and it’s the most varied in sound. While she is best known for the upbeat party tracks, such as the brilliant lead single Satellite, there are also some lovely, original ballads in the mix, for example Flowers on the Grave. Looking For Love, Cry For You and Midnight Heartache are also major highlights.