CD review: Zara Larsson

Swedish singer Zara Larsson’s second album is full of a swagger that swings between self-effacing intelligence and a self-awareness that sometimes come across as the aural equivalent of a selfie.

In other words, she sounds like a lot of young chart stars.

Soaked in sugary syrup, jacked up on the bounce and push of R and B grooves, Larsson knows her way around a backbeat, be it the dancehall/calypso beat of 2016 hit Lush Life, or the slow-jam of Only You.

However, the steamy tropical fever verges on oppressive (how many times does one album need to discuss night-long, or day-long, sexual escapades?), making So Good, well, not so good.

• Zara Larsson. So Good. Sony. 

• Two and a half stars (out of five)

Single download: Lush Life
For those who like: Rihanna

— Shane Gilchrist