Is there such a thing as ethereal folk? If there isn’t, then AURORA can be given all the credit for creating the genre, especially with her newest single ‘A Dangerous Thing’.

The song takes no time to introduce the many three-dimensional facets to ‘A Dangerous Thing’. The acoustic guitars that introduce the tune are quite obviously foundational, but the melody sung by AURORA is what will grip the listeners’ ear the most. You can tell there’s a Celtic sort of inspiration to the melodies, and the four-on-the-floor drive alongside the guitar really make it folky despite it. It’s especially in the chorus where the two ideas mesh the most beautifully, blending the instrumentation of folk music with musical ideas derived from Celtic and new-age genres. The heavy reverb layered over all the instruments make the song feel like it’s gently floating on top of the surface of a long, stretching lake in the middle of the forest. AURORA’s delightful, almost elven delivery accentuates that feeling all the more. Structurally, the song is as simple as it gets, following a verse-chorus pattern with a bridge to introduce the final chorus. There are a few elements that are added in each verse and chorus, but for the most part the dynamics of the song are somewhat flat, which serves it wonderfully. It’s not really meant to be something too exciting, but rather something you sit and listen, like a bard giving the performance of a lifetime at your local villages’ tavern.

‘A Dangerous Thing’ is a wonderful track that stands out quite uniquely without being extremely loud about it. Many musical ventures that deviates from the norm tend to be very explicit about it, but ‘A Dangerous Thing’ is more special in subtle ways. It begs for multiple listens, and outside of cool, nerdy gimmicks, it’s a beautiful song from start to finish.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.