MUSIC REVIEW: Mia Hafrén - “For the Brave”
If one thing deeply impresses me as a writer, it’s people who write wonderful lyrics, with bonus points awarded if you’re not writing in your native language. One of the artists I’ve discovered this year is Mia Hafrén, who is—if I understand Finnish well (and I don’t)—known best for performing in Mamma Mia!, the ABBA musical. In celebration of her 50th birthday this year, she’s releasing her first English-language pop album, “For the Brave,” on March 8th. Having adored her first three singles, I was absolutely delighted to find this album in my inbox one morning!
Image by Jonas Lundqvist
“Life is exceptionally unfair” are the words that start the album off in “Life Is,” which is one of those songs that is worth listening to for its lyrical reminders. This track is honest in a way that’s not too harsh, and is very supportive. The music is soft and mid-tempo, pretty stripped down with an emphasis on her and what she’s singing. Mia’s whole vibe seems to relate to trying to make the world a better place and since that’s also what I try to push forward in my life, it’s no surprise that I’ve falling deeply in love with a lot of her music!
Take, for example, one of the first singles, “Easy to Love.” How badly I wish this song had existed when my adoptive son and I were still spending time together (you know, back when he was alive). He was a prickly pear and very angry… it was not easy to love him, a lot of the time, but I didn’t ever care about any of that. I loved him anyways. This song completely encapsulates that feeling and it doesn’t just relate to him either, it relates to my partner, my parents, my friends… people in general are not always easy to love, but we do. “You’re not easy to love today / you’re holding a grudge my way / you’re not easy to love today / but I do…”
The music goes soft and a wee bit country in “In Every Little Thing,” which starts with what sounds like a parent encouraging their children to be kind, though there is certainly a journey to be followed in this track. There’s a very classic (American) folk sound to this one that reminds me a bit of artists like Alison Krauss, in the way that the song seems to be telling a story, with a passionate push in the chorus. Next, “Let Light In” is a gentle, slightly slower track, with more clever lyrics that refer to “you” in a way that the listener can wrap their own life around; surely every listener who hears it will have a unique perspective on its meaning.
“Exclusively Yours” is one of the ABBA-esque tracks, with a lot of really fun little vocal additions into the vibe, and I will say that the bass on this album isn’t too bad (especially for pop music, which often completely nearly completely ignores the rhythm section). The bridge of this song has delightful vocal lines that throw me back to “DEAD2ME” by Luna Kills, which was one of my favorite songs from its year because of those vocal lines.
My partner had me chuckling because the first few notes to “The Phone Call” are almost the same as that of System of a Down’s “Radio/Video.” However, you would be right in assuming that that’s where the similarities end. There’s some nice piano work to accompany this track, which could be considered a ballad and sounds lyrically like a love/friendship song. “For the Brave” begins with lyrics that, interestingly almost sound like talking instead of singing as some musical sounds begin increasing in intensity… only for the song to stop and go into a bit of a more jazzy direction. Bonus points for the hint of brass in here—I love a hint of brass! This one is about dancing your heart out and learning and banding together to make the world better, which I’m all for, of course.
“Who We Are” is another slower song with soft bass and some “oooh-ooh” backing vocals that add some nice texture to the track, while the bangin’ single, “I Refuse”—the most ABBA-y song on the album—has dramatic keys and even more provocative lyrics that seem to be encouraging our leaders—the people we choose to be in charge of us—to do a better job. The world truly needs more songs like this, but even more so, we need people who listen and take them to heart.
There’s a surprising spaghetti western feel to the start of “The Way,” which is another slower, more dramatic piece. At this point, I’ve started to notice little nuanced differences in the way she sings each song, which make me want to delve even deeper into this release. Then, of course, the album ends with one of my favorite songs from this year so far: “Goodness (a letter to a dictator),” which is an even more straightforward message critiquing politicians, all while promoting goodness. It’s very rare to hear an album’s final song as a single, but I love the way this album is organized and since I endlessly recommend you leave your album off in a way that leaves listeners begging for more, this song is perfect for that. I simply cannot sit still when I hear this one, it’s so groovy and I adore anything that makes me want to dance, because it’s a rare vibe for me. Pair that with some stank towards politics and this is just fills me with delight! Oh yeah, another shout-out to the vocal layering as well—I love the way Mia adds flavor into her tracks!
“For the Brave” is exactly what its name says: these are songs for the people out there who are brave. Those who are brave enough to embrace love, to pursue a world founded on kindness, to choose to help and not hinder, to choose to support and not cheat, to choose to uplift and not judge, and so on. Furthermore, I love music that focuses on the voice and lyrics. Even though this album isn’t the most exciting musically—people who are generally critical of pop might find fault in this—ever since I’ve started following the indie scene, I’ve started to appreciate voices and lyrics on their own, with simpler backing music, as it forefronts the singer. Now that said, some of these songs are pretty musically simple, but I feel like the emotion and the effort to sing songs with meaning completely makes up for that. Ultimately, I recommend this album to anyone who wishes the world would be a better place… and I suppose anyone who doesn’t want to put effort into making the world better, you should probably listen to it as well. So, that’s everyone!
Tracklist
Life Is
Easy to Love
In Every Little Thing
Let Light In
Exclusively Yours
The Phone Call
For the Brave
Who We Are
I Refuse
The Way
Goodness (a letter to a dictator)
