Having prescribed fans with monthly visits to the ‘Dopamine Clinic’, Stockholm trio Normandie delivers ‘Dopamine’ in its entirety today. Final single, ‘Serotonin’ captures how and what the album is all about.
Musically, it’s a slick, towering slice of pop-rock with an earworm of a chorus. Lyrically, it grasps the need to simply feel something, even if we have to make sacrifices in the process. “Why do we do it to ourselves? Whole-heartedly, we surrender to our feelings without knowing if it’ll be mutual,” shares Normandie frontman Philip Strand. “The hard truth is most of our relationships during our lifetime are doomed to fail – yet still we do it.”
Through its overall bombastic and layered execution makes ‘Serotonin’ one of ‘Dopamine’s essential tracks. Nonetheless, from the opening pulsating moments of ‘Overdrive’, ‘Dopamine’ takes you on a journey of highs and lows. Whether that be the adrenaline-fuelled hits ‘Colorblind’ and ‘Blood In The Water’, the explosive ‘All In My Head’, or Ritual’s potent rich keys. Leaning into a heavy alt-pop sound, the trio are capable of delivering an abundance of infectious hooks.
Completed by guitarist Håkan Almbladh and Anton Franzon, Normandie‘s fourth album embraces a semi-dystopian concept based on addiction; the chase and the need to feel relief. Combined with an intriguing sci-fi-esque worldbuilding where neurotransmitters have been taken out, resulting in dopamine being a requirement to get society through the day.
“Making this album futuristic and dystopian came very naturally when we started discussing the current state of the world,” explained Strand. “We’re all on overdrive. We’re upping the stakes all the time, and everybody has a higher tolerance now for stress in a way that nobody saw coming,”
Having conceptually pushed themselves, ‘Dopamine’ captures a band who are equally in the present with one eye in the future.
Normandie will follow up the release of ‘Dopamine’ with two UK shows next month. Support comes from As December Falls.
March
13th O2 Ritz, Manchester
14th Electric Ballroom, London
‘Dopamine’ by Normandie is available now on Easy Life Records. Purchase here.
Find Normandie on: Facebook | X (Formerly Twitter) | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Apple Music | Website
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