Asbjørn, Child of the City | Song Review 🎵

Handsome and talented, self-described Danish pop rebel Asbjørn drops a must-hear, scintillating, clubby pop banger with “Child of the City.”

“And so, we woke up in the morning feeling like ghosts in our bodies / 21 grams lighter but the weight of planets on us.” What a brilliant lyric (21 grams is nearly nil, while the weight of a planet is humongous).  One of many brilliant lyrics from the handsome, talented, and gracious, Asbjørn (Asbjørn Toftdahl Terkelsen). The self-described ‘Danish pop rebel’ describes ‘the beast’, single, “Child of the City”, as a ‘fast-paced piece of pop music with a villainous touch,’ and a ‘dizzying, clubby pop song featuring boys choir, me pounding a metal lampshade and a pinch of existential crisis.” Woo! The boys choir that Terkelsen mentions is his childhood boys choir, Skt. Clemens Drengekor, which is rad. It’s also fitting given the title of the song. The choir adds angelic sounds to the breathtaking single penned by Asbjørn. He produced it with Steffen Lundtoft.  

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True to his characterization, “Child of the City” exemplifies the club sound.  The unique, percussive intro marks one of the most impressive sounds from the single (it’s giving ‘pounding a metal lampshade’).  The rhythm of the intro continues in all facets of the song. Vocally, Asbjørn brings the heat.  He sounds lovely, flaunting his tone and some sweet falsetto moments. Even though he’s potent – locked in and loaded, baby – he maintains a calm, cool, and collected energy vocally. He never forces things or sounds as if he breaks a sweat.  That handsome face, sweat? Nah! Still, Terkelsen packs a punch, convincingly singing the rhythmic, tuneful melodies. There is no shortage of intriguing lyrics, including “Gimme that veggie McD, Gen-Z in a millennial body / My boy algorithm-chic, pretty on my feed.” That’s a banger! The chorus easily gets stuck in the head.

“You are a child of the city

Don’t know if you ever sleep at all

Yes, you are a child of the city, child of the city, child of the city.”

As “Child of the City” progresses it packs a bit more punch.  Still, that ‘punch’ is sans growing overblown or overwrought – it feels just right.  The ambient outro is unexpected but keeps the song intriguing. What more is there to say? Once again, my boy, Asbjørn brings the heat on “Child of the City”. If you’re not following this gifted Dane, it’s time to start!

Asbjørn // “Child of the City” // Body of Work // 7.18.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Body of Work; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]