Today I start the week with an exclusive premiere of a song. And when it’s this good it feels even more special to present it here on the blog. The song is “Rather Be Singing Than Thinking” by Gus By Heart, Gustav Svedung’s solo project. And in two days, October 10th, he will also release a cassette EP with the same title as the song, in addition to the digital release.

Gustav, whom we’ve met before here on the blog in the band My Closest Friend, and who have worked with bands like Navid Modiri and Oh, Harry, dropped out of all the projects and escaped into a small studio in Majorna in Göteborg, a little more than a year ago. After countless hours of experimenting and with the ambition of creating his very own musical universe, he’s now releasing four songs as a result of this, and with a hint that we’ll soon get to hear more songs.

The song and the EP title -titeln alludes to a song by Loudon Wainwright III, “Dreaming”, which starts with the line “I’d rather be dreaming than living, living’s just too hard to do”. The song has been an inspiration in his work with the songs, especially when it comes to the theme of several of the songs.

The result feels quite unique and with small means he’s created a soundscape that starts somewhere in singer/songwriter music and culminates in dreamy pop with sometimes filmic crescendos. It’s beautiful and melancholic and with Gustav’s special voice tone and desperate, dreamy and searching expression, I get curious of what’s to come, to say the least. Here below you’ll find the song, and also the excellent opening track “Hideous Sounds”, which was released earlier.

Gus By Heart’s site – på Facebook – på Soundcloud

Rather Be Singing Than Thinking