Selfocracy is the debut studio album by Belgian singer Loïc Nottet. It was released in digital and physical formats on 31 March 2017 by Sony Music Entertainment. Nottet rose to fame in 2014 when participating in The Voice Belgique and went on to finish fourth during the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest with “Rhythm Inside”. For his debut album, Nottet wanted creative control and wrote some of the material by himself, while collaborating with writer Army Morrey and producer Alexandre Germys on a majority of the songs. When composing music, Nottet would watch films without sound for inspiration, specifically Beauty and the Beast (1946), Changeling (2008), and Alice in Wonderland (2010). An electropop album influenced by genres including hip hop, experimental music and pop rock, Selfocracy features Nottet lyrically expressing his vision of modern society and addresses topics including toleration, harassment, stereotypes, narcissism, egocentrism and egoism. The singer himself described Selfocracy as a concept album and cited the mirror as a symbol for the entire record.
Music critics met the album with universal acclaim, praising the lyrics, the songs’ construction, and Nottet’s vocal delivery and maturity. Some indicated “Poision” as one of the best tracks on the album. Musically, reviewers noted the influence of several artists on the album, including Sia, Taylor Swift and Rihanna. Commercially, Selfocracy experienced success and reached number one in Wallonia, as well as the top ten in Flanders, France and Romandie. It was awarded Platinum by the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) in Belgium, as well as Gold by the Syndicat National de l’Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in France. For promotion, two singles preceded the album—”Million Eyes” (2016) and “Mud Blood” (2017)—which were successful in the aforementioned territories. Nottet also launched his Selfocracy Tour, which ran from 2017 to 2018 and visited the United Kingdom, Russia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
Tracklist:
1. “Selfocracy”
2. “Mud Blood”
3. “Team8”
4. “Dirty” (featuring Lil Trip)
5. “Million Eyes”
6. “Whisperers”
7. “Poison” (featuring Shogun)
8. “Cure”
9. “Wolves” (featuring Raphaella)
10. “Hungry Heart”
11. “Peculiar and Beautiful”
12. “Mirror”
OVERALL RATING
4 stars
♥ Bubble Days... 