With smooth-yet-android-like bleeps and analogue synth bass tones, HunBjørn’s latest single Love Me Harder opens with a cool, stripped back electronic aesthetic. Combining those with HunBjørn’s shimmering vocals serves to enhance her sense of humanity, but rather than appearing vulnerable amidst so much technology, she sounds augmented, emboldened, and enhanced by it. It is as though those synthesisers and drum patterns have adhered themselves to her skin, a form of cybernetic armour.
HunBjørn has spent the past year establishing a collection of songs tackling ‘sensitive dilemmas for a distinctly feminine perspective’. Love Me Harder arrives as a preview of her forthcoming album, The Digital Organic Life, targeted for release on 4 April. On the song, HunBjørn has chosen to depict the universal experience one has at the start of a romantic relationship. There is a point where you hesitate, waiting for a definitive signal from the other person, or alternatively build the determination and confidence to make the first move. Describing the song, HunBjørn says:
‘The song is about finding the courage to reveal yourself to someone else. It’s about the doubt and nervousness that arise when you start falling in love. You long to know if your feelings are reciprocated, but it takes bravery to speak up and expose yourself. Often, we need to push through our own insecurities to achieve the connection we desire.’
The writing and production of Love Me Harder were developed by HunBjørn herself, and the production work is a masterclass in understatement, slowly building to emphasise HunBjørn’s emotional state. Each section of the song introduces additional elements, like the complexity that comes with a deepening relationship. Additional synthesisers begin to pick out melodic refrains in the second verse, with the bridge out of the second chorus embracing a clutch of soaring acid synth stabs. As she lets loose, HunBjørn’s vocal vamping gives me goosebumps, unveiling the full extent of her feelings. It is a thrilling moment that sees the song unshackle itself from restraint, much like someone who has finally committed to telling the subject of their affection how they really feel.