S.I.D.E.S.

by Alice Merton

Overview

After her international breakthrough in 2017 with the song "No Roots," Berlin-based alt-pop artist Alice Merton took her anthemic full-length debut, 2019's Mint, to number two in Germany and charted elsewhere in Europe while also landing in the Top 20 of Billboard's Independent Albums chart. Following three years later, S.I.D.E.S. offers a sizeable 15-song track list written and recorded during a period that included pandemic shutdowns as well as both personal and professional conflict. The resulting material features lyrics that are more existential and confrontational, in addition to a palette that's a touch darker and more abrasive, all conceived by Merton, who co-wrote and co-produced every song alongside a rotating cast of contributors. Among them were producer Jonny Coffer (Beyonce, Ellie Goulding), producer/songwriter Jennifer Decilveo (Andra Day, Porridge Radio), and mixer Matty Green (Dua Lipa, Weezer). She kicks off the album with the defiant, then regretful "Loveback," whose early declaration of "I don't need you" is accompanied by melodic lead guitar, chugging bass and drums, and shimmery keys. However, a more authoritative chorus has other ideas, beginning with the impatient bass drum-accompanied vocal "Now I want my love back." Bold, catchy anthems are Merton's wheelhouse, and they populate S.I.D.E.S., although there are a few diversions here in the form of the midtempo "Blurry," a yearning, '80s pop-evoking entry with a similar mix of synths and electric guitar, and the gentler, more melancholy ballads "Everything" and "Shiny Things," which borrows EDM-oriented sound effects without ever settling into club cliches (although a couple later tracks test that boundary). Likewise, "Mania" adopts a spookier atmosphere with banshee-like backing vocals, and "Vertigo" borders on a cinematic hard rock with moments of unison vocals and synth bass. These songs feel more like modest digressions in the scheme of things, though, especially when S.I.D.E.S. ends on the pulsing "The Other Side," an empowering, marching pop anthem that makes it clear Merton is aiming to return to the charts. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	07/08/2022
Label:	Paper Plane Records
UPC:	4251917100208
Rank:	82687

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alice Merton   Primary Artist
Ulrich Rode   Guitar
Sonke Reich   Drums
Moritz Pirker   Guitar
Bjorn Werra   Bass
Sebastian Schmidt   Drums

Technical Credits

Beatgees   Composer,Producer
Nikodem Milewski   Mixing,Mastering
Stephen Kozmeniuk   Composer,Producer
Matty Green   Mixing
Sascha Buehren   Mastering
Jenn Decilveo   Composer,Producer
Jonny Coffer   Composer,Producer
Jules Kalmbacher   Composer,Producer
Moritz Pirker   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Alice Merton   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Tim Morten Uhlenbrock   Composer,Producer
Jens Schneider   Composer,Producer
Paul Whalley   Producer
Paul Grauwinkel   Management,Executive Producer
Anna Weigner   Executive Producer
Aykut Aydogdu   Artwork
Chris Merton   Design
Heiko Mark   Management,Executive Producer
Henry Harrlet   Design
John Davis   Mastering
Christian Neander   Composer,Producer
Tobias Kuhn   Composer,Producer