The album’s lead single, “Can’t Tame Her,” released early last year, teetered between formulaic and fun. Clearly drawing inspiration from the “Blinding Lights” era of pop music, she sings of herself like a deity, someone untouchable and uncontrollable, one who knows her power: “She gonna party all night,” she sings, “And you can’t change her.” More songs on the album, like the title track and “Escape,” follow the same danceable, bouncy sound — unassuming but catchy.

Obviously from the name, VENUS’ main inspiration is love — the previously mentioned “Escape” sees her wanting to flee with her partner. Elsewhere, on the formulaic “On my Love” with David Guetta, she sings about trusting her intuition (it’s a little boring, but nowhere near the level of musical disasters Guetta has recently been responsible for). She’s confident about her relationship, maybe delusionally so, and on places like “End of Time” she says it’ll last forever, no matter who calls them insane for doing so. Her songwriting turns coy, playful on “None Of These Guys,” a dark Tove Lo-like number where she brags about her man (not too tall, not too short), amidst a smattering of “NPCs.” Larsson is one of many internet-literate pop stars, the humor of which she infuses into her music, but sometimes it can border on cringy, alongside the line “I give him straight As, but I deserve only Ds.”

VENUS dissects the rough side of love as well; on one of the most interesting moments, “You Love Who You Love,” she writes to a friend dating an awful partner, who insists that Zara just doesn’t get it, since she doesn’t know her feelings (an inverse of “End Of Time”?). “Girl, give him up,” she pleads, “I’m telling you as a friend.” As a note to know your worth, it’s pretty powerful, but the message could be undercut when remembering previous songs like “Ammunition” and “More Than This Was,” where she attempts to repair broken or shaky relationships. “Ammunition,” in particular, features some real lyrical clunkers, all revolving around the hook: “I wanna give us a shot / Please give me, give me, give me ammunition.”

There are some ballads as well, which unfortunately only act as filler — Larsson’s real strength is her voice, and the catchy pop hooks she can create. “Nothing” and “The Healing” aren’t too interesting sonically, but “The Soundtrack” is peppered with real music references, ones that she says track a previous relationship, which she won’t be able to forget. Larsson can often write a solid pop song, but the lack of real standouts — in the vein of previous bangers “Love Me Land” or “All the Time” doesn’t make VENUS the powerful statement one would like it to be.

order Venus by by Zara Larrson HERE