Erika de Casier diversified after the 2021 release of
Sensational. She co-wrote "s.e.x.y.o.m.g." for
Jada, another Danish artist, and was featured on
Mura Masa's "e-motions." Her knack for articulating faint-hearted affection and springy effervescence then proved to be just right for
NewJeans, fellow dance-pop/R&B hybridists she helped return to the top of the chart in the group's native South Korea with "Super Shy," followed by the Top Ten "New Jeans."
De Casier referred to the teamwork as liberating, so it's likely not coincidental that her third album,
Still, opens up her sound with numerous collaborators.
De Casier continues to produce everything in tandem with
Natal Zaks or alone, and doesn't do away with sampled elements, but
Still incorporates the work of seven additional musicians and a few featured artists (some of whom were commissioned for
The Sensational Remixes). Compared to debut
Essentials and
Sensational, this is generally easier to replicate on-stage with a band, and at the same time is very much in alignment. These dainty ballads and slow jams are similarly informed by late-'90s to early-2000s pop and R&B with a little more of the U.K. underground dance sounds -- drum'n'bass, garage -- that crept into those genres at the time. The material is as clever and almost as charming as
Sensational. Most endearing is "Lucky" -- part rippling drum'n'bass track, part piano ballad, with
de Casier valuing her partner's listening as much as compliments on her appearance. Close to that is the vexed "Ice," evoking
Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew" with its loping bassline and boom bap-lite drums, where
de Casier flips the title's materialistic meaning to the emotional one.
De Casier's flair for nailing feelings of early courtship peaks with the not-quite-reggaeton vibrations of "Home Alone"; after asking "Whatcha wanna do?," she chuckles "I got a few ideas," then lets the beat trail off and regenerate before returning to whisper specifics in a way that is both lustful and nervous. The few songs not about blooming or wilting relationships also deviate the most in terms of vocals and production. In "The Princess," supported by light guitar spangle and gentle bass punctuation,
de Casier lays bare her desires and desperation, seemingly on the brink of sobbing at points, intensely expressive if sounding as though she doesn't want her anguish to be sensed from another room. She opens the song by using her resonant lower register in a way that's almost shocking. Further indication that
de Casier has more facets to show can be heard in "Someone," a skeletal and somber finale in which she's reeling from a split, unable to regain her sense of self. ~ Andy Kellman
