Lukas Graham is a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated artist who made his global debut with his 2016 self titled album.

His huge hit '7 Years' spent 5 weeks at #1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, and became the biggest selling single by a debut artist in 2016. The song completely changed his life, born in a Quasi-commune in the center of Copenhagen, to selling out tours around the world! Even if the name is a little vague to some, the music won’t be. He has already amassed an impressive catalogue of tracks, many of which you will have heard frequently and you’ll already know that as a songwriter and performer, Lukas Graham is of excellent quality. 

With a warm synth and stripped back vocal, ‘Scars’ starts in a way that drives home the pure passion that this song is going to deliver. It talks about the scars of a someone's emotional pain. What can often go wrong with a song like this is a desire to overcomplicate the mix or add in extra effects that take away the pure emotion in the lyrics. Not so in this case, the use of multiple instruments and backing vocals adds a power to this track that you can sense will be an anthem for many of Lukas Graham’s fans, plus new listeners too. 

What I really like about ‘Scars’ is the pattern of the lyrics. This is clearly a deep and emotionally charged song, but the words and melody don’t linger on a single note or phrase, they move quickly to tell this story of the importance of acknowledging pain and having empathy for others who might also be in this situation. The balance of the busy backing is perfect. The high reverb guitar is wonderful to show the texture of the song, accompanying this are the coral vocals and unique percussion that keeps the pace of the track moving, and at the same time never lets you forget that this song has a deeper meaning than many pop songs. It is clever, it is complex and most importantly it is deep in meaning that sits perfectly with the music and final arrangement.

 Pop     Soul 

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.