Citing Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift as inspiration, it’s no surprise that this debut album from Danish artist DOPHA (released today, 22nd January) is heavily pop-focussed. And if you’re a fan of either of these, this is a record that’ll be right up your street.
Listening to opening and title-track ‘The Game’, which was released as a single over the summer, it’s also clear that we’re dealing with a genuinely talented songwriter. It’s a grandiose affair, that has all the elements of a great pop song and is certainly a smart way to kick off the album, giving it an irresistible energy that continues throughout. It’s also up for Best Song of The Year at the Danish Critics Award, so keep an eye out to see whether it picks that up. It’s certainly deserving of it.
You may also recognise ‘Happy For Me’ given the success it had on Danish and German radio last year too. It’s another example of well-written pop that doesn’t profess to be much more than that, but sometimes there doesn’t need be any deeper meaning for a song to be enjoyable.
There are a couple of more melancholic offerings - ‘Forget your name’ and ‘3 years’, most notably - which still fit into the pop genre but may reflect the quiet upbringing DOPHA had in the small town of Romalt, before moving to Copenhagen. “It was not before I moved away from Romalt that it occurred to me how much it has meant for my life and my music to grow up there. The quietness and time for dreaming. Romalt has marked my music, and especially this first album.”
Life in a more metropolitan city seems to suit DOPHA. Overall, “The Game” is an album that acknowledges that and seems all about having fun, even if there are some ups and downs along the way. There’s plenty to enjoy here, and marks DOPHA as another young talent worth keeping an eye on.
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