Following his victory in Vienna last year, Måns Zelmerlöw has very much enjoyed the fruits of his labour, playing Summer festivals in both his home country of Sweden and Finland...he's toured Europe and even gone as far as China and Australia...but for any recording artist, its your album that's your pride and joy, and shortly after winning with the third highest points tally ever, he released his fourth album; "Perfectly Damaged". Let's put the pieces together...
Opening track "Stir It Up" kicks things off somewhat slowly, with a hushed, mellow introduction and leads on to what is an enjoyably gentle pop song, finding itself sounding not unlike IMAGINE DRAGONS to some extent and its a decent start. Following up immediately is that contest winning track and it's lost none of its appeal here; this was, is and forever will be a huge dance-pop track and is still a pleasure to listen to, the positive message of unity and solidarity that won him so many fans in Austria is still strong and it provides an album highlight, much like "Someday". The production here is slick and it combines elements of dark synth/dance and 70's funk and its very easy on the ears. Elsewhere too "Let It Burn" and "Unbreakable" provide upbeat moments of pop simplicity, while the rest of the album predominantly consists of slower, ballad driven tracks such as "Hearts Collide".
The beauty of the Eurovision song contest is that its truly multicultural and accepting of diversity, creating a platform for artists to achieve potential stardom, plus have the honour of representing their country at the same time...you can take your X-Factor or your Voice...this one is genuinely from the heart and Måns has worked with a great team to deliver a solid album following his win in Vienna, and he has everything he needs to succeed. Perfectly Damaged? Perfectly fine...this is a good pop album. [7]