Shadow Works (Kerli)

EN "Shadow Works” was the result of a lot of work and dedication. Its release, on February 22, 2019, was shrouded in a lot of " blood, sweat and tears”, as it is usually said. The project is officially the second album of the singer Kerli, taking into consideration that the second album, “Utopia", was compressed into an EP, after being leaked to the internet long before its release. Consequently, the project initially developed in 2016 did not meet the expectations of the artist, she used the singles previously released to compose another EP, “Deepest Roots”, the one that would probably be the most realistic and sincere album of the artist.

The first single of the project, "Savages", was released on November 30, 2018, accompanied by the announcement and album cover. The track, surrounded by an electronic sound, has a certain power to embrace us, as if it is hugging us and making us be attached to it, in an infectious melody and dance. Its music video has a dark nature, where black and white prevail, transmitting a message of power, love, emancipation, with phenomenal photography, daring me to say that it could be one of my favorite music videos ever. The second single was “Better”, released on January 18, 2019, and continues in a cohesive sound with the previous single and also recalls the singer's collaborations with the Seven Lions project (“Worlds Apart” and “Keep It Close”), showing that this would probably be a style to adopt for this project. Last but not least, the third and final single from the album was “Legends”, released on February 8, 2019, which features a funny story. The track was produced during the sessions of the project “Utopia”, as a kind of ballad, being thought of as the transitional element between "Love Is Dead”, the first album of the singer, and the second album, but ended up not seeing the light of day. However, the demo version of the song appeared on the internet on May 26, 2013, and it was funny to see that the track managed to be reused for this project, with vocals from the girls of Ülenurme Laulustuudio being added.

It is to be praised the attitude of the singer of never having stopped at any time, even for those who think that she disappeared from the musical panorama because, if she was not releasing songs in her own name, she was composing hits for other artists as was the case of “Skyscrapper” by Demi Lovato, “I Feel Immortal” by Tarja, or collaborating with other artists, such as on the electronic tracks "Sound of Walking Away" by Illenium, "Glow in the Dark", "Stardust" and "Something About You” by tyDi, "Raindrops" by SNBRN and more, showing off her enormous talent as a vocalist and producer, allowing us to glimpse a certain evolution and, despite the number of “hands” that touched “Shadow Works", her personality appears with enormous eminence.

“Shadow Works” turns out to be a complex project full of details, still wanting to convey some of the traditions of her country, Estonia, as it turns out to happen in the track “Tuleloits”, an enigmatic track but with meaning, and that proudly conveys a kind of message, at the end of the album, ending with the phrase "Ja nii on” which means "And so be it." And despite the "heavy" sound, as in my favorite track, “Where the Dark Things Are” with a deep and intense bass and a decidedly more sinister atmosphere, "Shadow Works” symbolizes years of experience, past failures and a sharp growth in talent and skill. It reveals itself a “magnum opus" of Kerli and perfectly demonstrates the importance of mature compositions and the high value of production in modern music.

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