Wiki
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Release Date
21 January 2022
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Length
15 tracks
The Gods We Can Touch is the third studio album by Norwegian singer AURORA, released on January 21, 2022, through Decca, Glassnote and Petroleum Records. The album was produced by long-time collaborator Magnus Skylstad and AURORA themselves, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The album was characterized by being an electropop record, along with folk pop, ethereal, art pop, electro folk and synth-pop. The album's sound incorporates an eclectic and multifaceted style, defined with vast soundscapes, electronic textures, Western elements, intimate orchestrations, multiple layers and textures. The album's musical influences are based on chamber pop, global music, Latin music and arena rock.
The lyrical themes are heavily inspired predominantly by Greek mythology. Furthermore, the lyrical writing styles have been described as dark and disturbing, with an ultimate and introspective style. The lyrics throughout the album's songs also talk about self-empowerment, abuse, and heartbreak. AURORA's soprano vocal performance throughout the album was described by many critics as "ethereal", with interludes for songs that showcase her voice and vocal pitch changes. Georgia Griffiths of The Music said that AURORA is "channeling Lana Del Rey, next it's Santigold" in her vocal performances on the record.
AURORA began production on her new album in November 2019. She hinted at plans to release a new album shortly after the release of her album A Different Kind Of Human – Step 2. In an interview with Riff Magazine, she revealed that she was working on two albums at the same time, one of which she said was "further in the future". Regarding the album closer, she stated: "The perspective is much bigger. It's still quite political, and it's still quite opinionated and also very emotional. It's even more about the individuals who make up the army. It's an album for every individual within the great army of love". She further detailed the album in an interview with Motley, stating: "My next album will be clad in an armor of toughness. But I'm also really exploring the soft, delicate part of me, which I want to open up even more on my next album".
On May 11, 2020, AURORA archived all of her Instagram posts and then posted about a new song about love and a new era. The following day, she announced the album's originally intended first single, Exist For Love, sharing that it was the beginning of Chapter 3. The song was released on May 14, 2020.
Cure For Me was released on July 7, 2021. The day before, AURORA gave an interview with Bergens Tidende where she stated that her new album was finished, saying "before leaving home, I listened to the latest version and approved it".
During a Reddit AMA on July 13, AURORA stated: "This era of my life is very influenced by the ancient times where theatre was all they had. No CGI or special effects etc. and I really wanted all these videos to feel very authentic, and down to earth! The shell in 'Exist For Love' was handmade by someone, and I painted all the masks in 'Cure For Me' myself! So I like it when it feels… human <3".
On September 6, 2021, it was confirmed that the album was postponed to early 2022. A few days later, she revealed the place the album was recorded (the Barony in Rosendal) in an interview with Dagsavisen, a possible release month (January) and the reason for its delay.
On October 11, AURORA announced Giving In To The Love as the album's third single. It was released worldwide on October 14, 2021. The album was officially announced on the same day. Before the reveal, the tracklist and artwork had accidentally been uploaded online with the incorrect release date of January 7, 2022.
On October 18, an e-mail was sent through AURORA's mailing list with a link to a quiz for "The Gods We Can Touch". The results revealed the related gods for all the announced songs on the album.
On December 3, the album's first promotional single, Heathens, was surprise-released and soon after a live performance of the song was published. A live streamed concert, A Touch Of The Divine, was announced, intended for January 25, 2022, shortly after the album's release. About this concert AURORA said: "it will sound different live than it will be on the live broadcast to engage the music in different ways."
A Touch Of The Divine, a special event was webcasted a few days after the album's release. In March, AURORA embarked on the extended The Gods We Can Touch Tour.
On October 5, 2023, AURORA's book The Gods We Can Touch went on sale in her online store. After the book was announced, several pages were shared by AURORA on social media. One of the pages contained a list of 23 song titles classified into "DARK" and "LIGHT". Twelve of these were different from their final titles ("Mama Yyu Yyu" was a different spelling of the alternative title "Hermaphroditus", which was later found) and entirely new titles such as "Angels On Earth", along with Midas Touch and "God Of War", were included in the list.
On its release day, The Gods We Can Touch received 2.4 million streams on Spotify globally, becoming her biggest debut ever on the platform, and the biggest debut for a Norwegian female album in 2022.
The Gods We Can Touch debuted at number one on the Norwegian VG-lista Topp 40 Album with first-week sales of 2,300 units, earning her second number-one album. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart with 4,000 album-equivalent units. It marked the singer's first top 10 album on the chart. The album also entered on the albums charts in France, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Australia, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Spain, Scotland, Poland and Switzerland. As of June 2024, the album has already sold 24,220 units in the UK and 740k units worldwide.
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