ionnalee – Everyone Afraid to be Forgotten

Jonna Lee’s latest release under her ionnalee moniker plays out like the Eurovision Song Contest, switching from moments of dark melodramatic pop to some horribly trashy Eurodance.

Everyone Afraid to be Forgotten is a tough and complicated listen, and not in a good way. Self-produced by the Swedish singer, who is also one half of audiovisual project iamamiwhoami, the album’s production is all over the place and wildly inconsistent.

Her collaboration with Jamie Irrepressible on Dunes of Sand is slow and droney, while the following track Blazing is harsh and noisy, featuring a bizarre and pretty awful attempt at rapping from Lee. The most Eurovision-worthy track of them all, Not Human has the best chorus on the album and some equally great, shimmery synth-pop production, ruined only by a terribly lazy fade at the end. Samaritan features another great chorus, but the verses sound completely disjointed and don’t hold up in the same way.

On the other side of the spectrum, Here is a Warning sees Lee at her most Björk-like, where her sharp vocals are nicely accompanied by subtle, minimal production. Its ethereal feel suits Lee’s voice well, as she emotionally belts out the lyrics: ‘Falling out / Falling out / Falling out of love’.

Everyone Afraid to be Forgotten should prove as a lesson in self-restraint; Lee has thrown everything she has into it, but it could do with being taken down a few notches.

Listen to: Not Human, Here is a Warning