All posts tagged Sweden

YOUTHCULT – Bored

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Towards the end of last year, a mysterious new Swedish outfit called YOUTHCULT emerged, releasing a handful of tracks that led to early WU LYF/MONEY comparisons. Artistically they certainly seemed to be nurturing a similar sound/ideology, and with such heart on sleeve influences the trick was always going to be in the execution.

A few months on and with the reveal of Bored, I’m convinced that any initial excitement was worth having. It’s the kind of music that leaves an impression, asking more questions than giving answers… both intimate and majestic at the same time. As each guitar chord chimes, hints of Explosions In The Sky-esque post-rock bloom from within, creating a passionate, expansive piece of work. Bored is a dark vision surrounded in an air of innocence, you’ll want to listen again and again to make sure it doesn’t disappear.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/108368662″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

https://www.facebook.com/YOUTHCULT

Phill Young

RHEYA – FYO

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I can’t really tell you much about RHEYA beyond the fact he’s Swedish and belongs to the same YLAWAV movement that YOUTH CULT do.

RHEYA makes sorrowful, introverted electronica with layers of synthetic sound glistening beneath a crooning vocal. This kind of mournful pop has certainly remained in fashion the last few years, with records from Deptford Goth and Active Child both coming to mind when listening to FYO. Stylistically it shares the same ghosted production but with an indiepop twist that makes it more danceable… more like The Radio Dept. And that can only be a good thing right?

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/115958047″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Phill Young

Y O U T H C U L T – May Be Myopic

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Look, its very hard these days to create something truly original, and those that do are usually dismissed as oddities who could never translate ideas into mainstream success. Every artist has influences… its just some choose to wear them more brightly than others.

With that in mind Y O U T H C U L T are a Swedish outfit (brought to my attention thanks to CITR) with a sound heavily tied to Manchester’s MONEY and WU LYF – its epic, heavenly stuff with a devastating ambition. And you know what? I can’t do anything but LOVE it.

Listen and download the YOUTH CUNT EP here:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3659874796 size=medium bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]

http://www.facebook.com/YOUTHCULT

Phill Young

Alice Boman – Waiting

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Alice Boman’s Waiting is slow, stripped back, sparkling and unbearably intimate. These are recordings so close that listeners hear everything from the breath of the vocals, the finger strokes on the keys and their reverberating echoes through the wood of the piano.

The track is the first single from debut EP Skisser (Sketches) released on Adrian Recordings in Scandinavia this May. The emerging melodic folk artist from Malmo, Sweden, writes simple melodies that twist their arms around you; her sound is an understated drama that reflects the beauty, love and hope found in the depths of sadness and experience. Waiting is a perfect example of sound’s near magical ability to hone in on the knife edge of weighty, cut to the bone emotion.

https://soundcloud.com/aliceboman

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Boman/522856994416142

Sarah Rayner

Thanks to The Line Of Best Fit for this discovery.