感官疗程 (2012)

Heal is the debut studio album by Swedish singer Loreen, released on 24 October 2012 through Warner Music Sweden. It received positive reviews from critics and received commercial success in the charts, notably reaching number one in Sweden and was certified Platinum there.

Four singles were released from the album, "Euphoria" was released in February 2012 as the lead single, "My Heart Is Refusing Me" was released in international markets in a new remixed version as the second single in October 2012, "Crying Out Your Name" was released in Sweden only as the second single the same month. "In My Head" was released as the fourth single in February 2013. A fifth single "We Got the Power" was released as the lead single from the reissued version of "Heal" that was released in May 2013.

Background

ESCDaily reported in August 2012 saying: "Signed by Warner Music Sweden, Loreen spent her time over the past month in the studio working with various producers for her anticipated first album. It was expected that her first single, 'My Heart is Refusing Me' as well as its follow-up 'Sober' would be featured on the record, along with 'Euphoria'." The official album cover was released on 1 October 2012. "Heal" was officially released on 24 October 2012. On 31 May 2013, Heal was re-released as Heal (2013 Edition), featuring two new tracks, "We Got the Power" and an acoustic version of "Euphoria", while excluding the song "See You Again".

Composition

The album opens with "In My Head", the song has a throbbing bass beat and low brooding synth strings. The next track "My Heart Is Refusing Me" is in a new remixed form and is slightly different from the original version released in 2011. The song is a dance balladry track that has a chorus that formulaically expands after periods of restraint verses. "Everytime" was highly praised by critics, the song opens in an acoustic production, featuring only Loreen's voice and the piano. After the openings verse the beat kicks in and the production changes to heavy synths and claps. Euphoria is a dance song and the album version contains an extended intro which is not present in the single version, it opens with heavy strings before the songs starts. The following track, "Crying Out Your Name" features heavy synths and drum ‘n’ bass beats, described as a relatable self-destructive break up track. "Do We Even Matter" is a mid-tempo song that features a lullaby outro of a finger piano that gently tinkles away over the main chord melody.

"Sidewalk" was described to have a R&B feel about it at the start but later when the synth comes in and the song starts to build into a superb musical mix with Loreen's voice layered through it. The next track "Sober" was originally released in late 2011, and like "My Heart Refusing Me" has been remixed, this version is more uptempo than the original. "If She’s The One" has Eastern influences in its production. "Breaking Robot" is an uptempo track with heavy synths that features a distorted male vocal during the chorus of the song. "See You Again" described as the most commercial song besides "Euphoria", the track opens with some guitar chords being strummed and critics compared the song's chorus to Rihanna's song "Where Have You Been". The final track, "Heal" has a sombre electronica feel to it and described as a heartfelt finale where Loreen cries out the chorus lines like a diva whilst the keyboards sound slightly warped and discordant.

Critical reception

Scandipop.co.uk were very positive in their review, writing "So all is well – we’re happy campers." They praised the more dance-ready songs on the album, while the criticized the balladry songs, by stating "although we wouldn’t recommend judging the album too much on what you hear in these, they’re really not the best representation of any of the songs." Samesame.com.au gave the album a positive review as well, saying: "Heal is an alluring blend of pulsating dance pop that feel more subtle than what one might initially expect from a Eurovision pop purveyor, in the current pop market that is already fluent in electronic dance music parlance, Heal speaks a language of its own – shrugging off trendy dubstep inflections in favour of a richer, soundscape that enhance its emotive lyrics rather than compete with it.