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Music

Annie's Back, Back, Back with "Out of Reach"

The Norwegian queen returns with a poignant synth-pop song, that's a bit Enya, a dash of Toto's "Africa" and 96 percent Annie. Basically, 100 percent perfect.

If you don't know Annie—get acquainted, stat! The Norwegian goddess was dropping smart synth-pop tunes way back in the early aughts with songs like "Heartbeat," "Chewing Gum," and "Greatest Hit," not to mention the cute yet biting 2007 smash "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" in 2008. She made waves back then, alongside the collaborators Röyksøpp, Ralph Myerz, and London pop producer Richard X, but if she were to come out now she'd be killing it in a Charli XCX-stylee. Nevertheless it's not like the Bergen-born, Berlin-based singer's ever stopped making music. In between her two LPs, she's been DJing and remixing and in 2011 she worked with with one of Norway's most infamous visual artists, Bjarne Melgaard, for his exhibition The Night Within Us! and their anti-Putin video "Russian Kiss." (We interviewed them about it here.) Then in 2013 she dropped her A&R EP—which featured a disco-tastic collaboration with Little Boots—her first release since 2009. This was then followed by a stint as a judge on Norwegian Pop Idol.

Which brings us to her new EP, Endless Vacation, out this week. Below is the latest track from the EP, "Out of Reach"—produced by longterm partner in crime Richard X. (FYI Richard X has written/produced for everyone from M.I.A., to Kelis, to the Sugababes. Behind the scenes brilliance.) Anyway, "Out of Reach" is a wistful pop number with total Enya vibes, there's even something a little "Africa"-esque. It's poignant pop at its best: the sonic equivelant of staring out of a rain streaked window, tears misting your vision as you think about that one person who's omnipresent and yet so very far away.

"Lying in my bed and I cannot sleep / Thinking of the things you said to me," she coos. Yeah babes, we've all been there.

Annie's Endless Vacation EP is out on 10.16 via Pleasure Masters.

Kim Taylor Bennett will be listening to Annie for the rest of the day. She's on Twitter.