After her 2015 single Runaway went viral on TikTok in 2020, Norwegian artist Aurora has become one of the most streamed artists on Spotify, sitting comfortably in the top 1000. Her third studio album, The Gods We Can Touch, is her newest release. 

Just like her two previous albums, The God We Can Touch diverges from mainstream pop music with its innovative and cinematic qualities. The album is almost conceptual in the thematic unity between its tracks, with each song dedicated to humanizing a different god or spiritual deity, from Greek mythological characters to Christian figures. 

Aurora opens the album with “The Forbidden Fruits of Eden,” a short song that sounds like mantras layered over a catchy beat, setting the album’s overall mystical ambiance. The second track, “Everything Matters,” continues in a similar tone, as Aurora’s reverbed high-pitched voice harmonizes with gentle piano and electronic beats. The song also features Montreal-based singer Pomme, whose French verses complement the song’s celestial tone.  

In the album, Aurora boldly navigates her way through an extensive sonic palette, combining her on-brand Nordic electro-pop sound with soft folkloric elements. While “Cure for Me” and “A Temporary High” have an energetic quality that makes the listener long for the reopening of clubs, “Heathers” and “Artemis”  are more enigmatic and folkish, with ethereal harmonies and delicate synths. Although the drastic variation of genres throughout the album may seem incongruous, the songs are carefully arranged so that even the most intense songs blend into slower ballads. Creating an album with such radically different sonic elements was certainly risky, but The Gods We Can Touch overcomes the challenge, proving that Aurora has the talent to conquer the pop scene.