Single Review: 'All I Want' (milkrings) Remix by Lemon Lord-Music-Bloom Magazine

Lemon Lord, **‘All I Want (milkrings remix)’** (2021), Canva

Lemon Lord is an artist we’ve been keeping up with all year, having reviewed ‘Superpower,’ the most streamed song from her debut album, ‘Be Blonde,’ back in springtime. Another track from that 2020 record, ‘All I Want,’ now freshly remixed by milkrings, forms her most recent glittering electro-pop offering.

Lemon Lord is the alter ego of Nora Germain, a Los Angeles-based violinist with a classical, jazz background allowing for precision in everything she creates. Having performed or recorded with a long list of talents, including Jacob Collier, Lewis Capaldi, Kristin Chenoweth and Katy Perry, and described as “an incredibly divine personage” by Jeff Goldblum, Nora’s more than making a name for herself in the musical world.

Stepping away from violin strings, ‘Be Blonde’ is a compilation of pure, uplifting pop. Following previous milkrings remix, ‘Queen,’ the artist’s adding to her roster by teaming up with the producer again and remixing ‘All I Want’, another from the album. This song, and everything made under the Lemon Lord moniker, couldn’t be further from Nora’s flourishing career in jazz.

Met with a bold start, ‘All I Want’ cuts in and gets straight to the point. It’s upfront, 90s/00s-influenced dance music that gives the original a new lick of paint. All the elements you’d expect are present and turned up, forming a sound that complements the bright Barbie-pink cover art. Some jutting, disjointed moments frame Lemon Lord’s words and give them gravity. Glitchy throughout before fizzling out, it’s a standard pop song. But, in this simplicity, there’s an air of confidence and ownership, bottled by the lyrics.

As with every Lemon Lord release, female empowerment is central to the single. Laying out the blueprints of what she wants from its title, the song reveals Lemon Lord has high expectations. She isn’t willing to negotiate or accept anything less. The artist clarifies her conditions, “if you let me be free, then you can have me.” Confidently acknowledges potential, “I know we’ve got a lot of potential,” but isn’t blinded by it as she speaks up for herself and goes on, “this is what I need if you want to keep me.” Like a Barbie doll trying on different outfits, Lemon Lord challenges someone to throw societal expectations and beauty standards out the window, “you really want to know what makes a woman want to stay forever? Take me as I am, wearing any outfit.” She asks to be accepted however she is or whatever she looks like, even if that differs daily.

Bubbling with agency and confidence, ‘All I Want’ requests freedom, security, and understanding whilst inside a relationship. It balances love, empowerment and equality. Things that, in this world, we can never have too much of.

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