Erika de Casier – Lifetime – clashmusic.com

Since the harpsichord-inflected RnB of 2019’s ‘Essentials’, Erika de Casier has exalted the syncopated grooves of Y2K monomania in her work. Her latest full-length, ‘Lifetime’, emerged as a relic from that era. From a trail of breadcrumbs and teasers its true form was only revealed last week with the Danish singer-songwriter placing a limited number of untitled cassettes up for sale on Bandcamp. Uncovered by zealous fans and online streamers to be Erika’s fourth studio album, its lost tape format harks back to the youth-driven movements of ‘90s MTV and post-millennia TRL; when music was tangible and televisual, consumed slowly and deliberately, foldouts and fanzines strewn across the floor, lyrics pored over and deciphered. 
Erika has, on occasion, been criticised for manufacturing a sound that is preoccupied with being low-key, moody and scenic, never really cutting loose like on her club-skewed collaboration with Nick León, ‘Bikini’, or the fizzy confection hit of the K-pop anthems she helped engineer in 2023. On ‘Lifetime’, Erika subtly tweaks the languor in her mood music for worn confessionals that are raw and rough-edged, backed by a low-res, deftly-constructed mix of new jack swing and trip-hop textures, quiet storm and lilting cool jazz. 
Written and self-produced between August 2023 and November 2024, Erika bypassed releasing with 4AD, the Beggars Group label that distributed her sophomore effort ‘Sensational’ and last year’s ‘Still’. It’s an intentional move: ‘Lifetime’ is Erika stridently re-calibrating her underplayed sound into a sepia-tinged portrait illustrating the passage of time; the loss of youth and innocence, the wispy elusiveness of years gone by, and the experiences that harden, and change us, as we mature. Opener ‘Miss’ and ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ lay down those markers early on; melodica grooves pulse with quiet assuredness, but also angst and melancholy over what has transpired, intermixed with a nervy anticipation at what lies ahead.
Originally titled ‘Midnight Caller’, Erika frames her tantalizingly abridged verses as nocturnal notes, repeating and echoing them in mantric ways. The world-building is sexy and the writing whipsmart. ‘The Chase’, built from dialled-in bleeps, a lucid beat and distant vocals unfurl the ‘trauma attraction’ at the heart of this cat and mouse number, vividly encapsulating the obscure nature of modern situationships; ‘Moan’ flips the switch, positioning a bruised but acquiescent Erika in the mood for coital bliss – moaning, cooing and purring her way to climax. The deliriously good penultimate track ‘Two Thieves’, an ambient escapade with deep set bass lines and slow-grind percussion, is Erika at the height of her sensory powers – a conduit for a late night encounter that may or may not have taken place. It’s all in the silence and the space in between. 
On the glazed titular trick, Erika is a conduit through lifetimes. “It lingers in my body when I realise that love is all we have and I will be the grown-up that she needed, I promise that…” Erika sings to both the object of her enduring affection and her younger, pliant self that needed that bit of found wisdom. It’s a soulful, atmospheric paean to the clarity that comes from a self-love that is now realised, and rooted. 
On her fourth album, Erika de Casier dials back her collaborative nous, leaning into her own instincts as a producer. Like a slow burn romance, ‘Lifetime’ is a collection that spans years and the pay-off isn’t immediate. Erika de Casier has never been one to paint in transformative brushstrokes. On ‘Lifetime’ she masterfully connects her eras, looping back, editing and upgrading the sound of rapture she’s cultivated through time. On ‘Lifetime’, she’s finally arrived at the sound of sweet surrender. 
9/10
Words: Shahzaib Hussain
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