Black Star Elephant
| Black Star Elephant | ||||
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| Studio album by Nico & Vinz | ||||
| Released | 16 September 2014  14 October 2014 
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| Recorded | 2013–14 | |||
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| Length | 57:29 | |||
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| Nico & Vinz chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Star Elephant | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 58/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Billboard |  |
| The Guardian | |
| The Northern Echo | 7/10 |
| PopMatters |   |
Black Star Elephant is the second studio album by Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz. It was released in Australia on 16 September 2014, and on 14 October 2014 in the United States. It contains 14 songs and 7 interludes. The album garnered a mixed reception from critics divided by the production and the duo's socially conscious lyrics. Black Star Elephant debuted at number one in Norway and reached the top 40 in countries like Australia, New Zealand and the United States, spawning four singles: "Am I Wrong", "In Your Arms", "When the Day Comes", and "My Melody".
Black Star Elephant received mixed reviews from music critics divided by the mixture of the duo's socially conscience lyrics and the production driving it. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, based on 5 reviews.
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times praised the duo's decision to deliver social issues through African-influenced pop production that didn't muddle it, saying that "Behind that choice seems to be an understanding that reaching the most really means alienating the fewest." Simon Harker of The Northern Echo praised the album's upbeat pop numbers for delivering social messages that feel refreshing, concluding that "Not every track manages to avoid coming across a little too treacly or earnest, but the likes of the Stargate-helmed 'Imagine' and easygoing rhythms of 'In Your Arms' are just as catchy and enjoyable as their best-known hit."AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that the duo's approach to genre-bending tracks resembled that of Bruno Mars but that it also helped shaped them, concluding that "this cultural disconnect enhances them because it emphasizes how, at their core, Nico & Vinz are lite bubblegum worldbeat pop, and will try on any fashion just as long as it might bring them a hit."
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