Daniela Rathana’s second album is infused with a tone of self-examination. “Where do you go when you’ve already shown everything?” she asks on the title track, Where Strippers Go to Die. Set to an arrangement worthy of a Bond film – with dramatic pianos and strings – the 29-year-old artist reflects on baring oneself when it’s already too late, like a naked stripper on stage.
The feeling of having “given everything” is also echoed in the breakup anthem Fuck ditt liv – as bitter as Cherrie’s Lämna han, as empowering as Miley Cyrus’s Flowers, and with a hook tailor-made to be shouted along to on the dance floor.
Daniela Rathana’s debut, Rathana Club from 2021, won a Grammis for Pop Album of the Year, though it leaned just as heavily into R&B. The songs portrayed decadence, toxic relationships, and teenage aesthetics – all in a bold, clever, and captivating manner. Since the start of her solo career, she has been under the wing of Oskar Linnros, who has served as executive producer for both albums. Like its predecessor, the new record is characterized by a cinematic language. If Rathana Club was a quality drama, the follow-up is a moderately entertaining TV series, where the tension is kept alive by a few core ingredients – in this case, primarily the lyrics. One example is Mangatårar, where the tone shifts between delicate and cheeky. The song revolves around the unfiltered character Rathana has deliberately created for herself – and the mechanisms behind it. “I know I’m animated, call it survival,” she sings over playfully plucked strings.
The charming R&B from her debut is notably absent. Instead, the sound leans toward a safe pop center – well-produced but rarely surprising. Daniela Rathana’s artistry otherwise soars high on the artistic pole, with a distinct aesthetic and songwriting that carries both sharpness and depth. To match her otherwise distinctive expression, the production would have needed to take more creative risks.
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