No Mythologies To Follow (album)

No Mythologies to Follow is the debut studio album by Danish singer and songwriter MØ, released on 7 March 2014 by Chess Club Records and RCA Victor. The album received positive reviews from music critics.

Background
In an interview with Interview magazine, MØ was quoted saying, "I wrote all of the songs, and I'm attached to all of the songs. They all fit together, and I feel like they're telling a story. If I should name one that I think represents the album very nicely, then it's a song called "Pilgrim." It's very simple and strong in its message. Both production-wise and lyrically, it's very simple and minimalistic, but has some depth to it." The theme for the album is about being young, inexperienced, and being lost in this crazy society we live in these days. Further on the theme she extended, "When you're young and insecure, there's a lot of pressure to live up to these ideals, and it's impossible. It's hard to find your own way and navigate through. That's the theme of the album: to be young and searching." Her track "Pilgrim" was also featured as a score in the Italian version of Acqua di Gioia's advertisement. She noted that the song is wanting to escape the noise of society and just go somewhere private where you can listen to your own thoughts and figure out what you want to be. The track "Don't Wanna Dance" adheres to a collection of squelching synths and was released as a single in February 2014. GQ stated that the track "Walk This Way" has "grand vocals" and fantastically produced "dynamic", funky guitar riffs. MØ recorded the vocals for the album in her childhood bedroom.

Singles
The album was preceded by six singles, five before the release of the album. The first single, Glass, couldn't chart in any country, it has an official video. The second single, Pilgrim, peaked the number 11 on Denmark with only an audio video on Youtube. Waste of Time served as the third single, it was promoted with a music video, but didn't chart anywhere. The fourth single, XXX 88 that includes a collaboration with american DJ Diplo and an official music video, only charted on Belgium's Flemish Ultratip chart at number 42. The fifth single and music video was Don't Wanna Dance, it peaked at number 25 on Denmark and 59 on Flemish Ultratip chart. The sixth and last single, Walk This Way also has a music video and various remixes, and it peaked at number 33 on Denmark. MØ also released a cover of Spice Girls' song Say You'll Be There and it was included on the deluxe version of No Mythologies To Follow.

Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Most of the critics praised MØ's vocals and criticized the album's structure.

Renato Pagnani from Pitchfork gave it a 7.1 out of 10 and said that the album "ditches shock-rap for more mature but no less immediate electro-pop exploring the swirling confusion of young adulthood." and it "doesn't work because it assembles the right ingredients in the right amount--it works because a likable persona is something you just can't teach." Paul Faller from Drowned in Sound gave it a 7 out of 10, saying that "No Mythologies to Follow is perhaps better taken as a really strong collection of singles (or potential singles) than a complete body of work, but that’s its only real weakness." On a very favorable review, Josh Terry from Consequence of Sound said that "No Mythologies To Follow displays a remarkably singular vision and unparalleled confidence from the unlikely pop star." and also remarked three essential tracks: Waste of Time, Slow Love and Maiden. Laurence Day from The Line of Best Fit gave it a score of 8 out of 10, and said "On No Mythologies To Follow, MØ not only proves she’s capable of crafting a superb collection of pristine pop, but that despite the ceaseless flood of Scandi-pop gold, she’s completely, unequivocally necessary in 2014. This is the start of what promises to be a fantastic career." Kevin Harley gave it another 8 out of 10 in a short review saying that "Her debut is an accomplished, glossily shimmering thing." Tim Jonze from The Guardian gave it 4 out of 5 stars, he praised the songs Maiden and Slow Love, but said that sometimes she strains too hard for a huge pop chorus, as on Don't Wanna Dance. Will Richards from The 405 gave it a 7 out of 10 and said "Despite a heavy sense of pressure regarding what people want her to be, No Mythologies To Follow manages to twist and turn through a number of genres and styles, and Ørsted's astonishing vocal ranges adapts itself to each and every one remarkably." Jean-Luc Marsh from Pretty Much Amazing was very positive on his review, saying that "Ørsted’s debut LP wears its history heavily, composed of equal parts previously released and new material. It is a risk for an artist as dependent on earworm shock value as Ørsted, but a deliberate one that yield dividends at the end of the day." Jamie Milton from DIY Magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars, he said that "The energy of this debut is tangible. It’s the equivalent of jumping round a bedroom and ending up in the stratosphere."

Killian Fox from The Observer UK was mixed on his review focusing on her influences and originality, he said "The pleasures here are familiar: these aren't the first Scandinavian pop songs to juxtapose glacial synths and booming drums with tropical guitar licks. Nor does Ørsted take pains to conceal her influences – try listening to Never Wanna Know without thinking of Lana Del Rey. But what she lacks in originality, she makes up for with warlike ardour.", and gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Kevin Ritchie from NOW Magazine gave it a 3 out of 5, saying that "...the album doesn't so much co-opt these influences as distill them into a more personal and energetic sound that matches her robust vocal style."