A couple of weeks ago Rebecka Bodén released her debut EP “Deeper Than the Sea”. It contains five songs where she and Gustav Rådström have caught the late 60’s/early 70’s both in sound and spirit. Françiose Hardy, The Carpenters and sometimes a young Joni Mitchell come to mind as I listen to these irresistably charming melodies which Rebecka carry in a such natural and carefree way. There are five strong tracks here, but to me the summer-vibing pop gem “Summertime Mistake” and the delicate, beautiful ballad “Deeper Than the Sea” stand out especially.

Rebecka Bodén on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Rickard Ahlgren and his Danmarck is back again with a new track. It’s called “Mayfire” a song he says was inspired by “‘month of may’-arcade fire & horror”. Here he’s certainly left the garage and sounds larger than ever with ominous, alarming guitars and chanting hardcore vocals.

Danmarck on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Soundcloud

Here’s Tåget till Wroclaw, a four member strong band hailing from Fagersta, who recently released the new single “Blunda inte mer”. They have achieved a quite sweet basic rock sound with driving toms and echoing guitars where they with clenched fists tell us how they look at what’s happening in the world. Earlier the band has released the EP “Vakna nätter & trötta dagar” 2014 and after that a couple of singles, which you can listen to on Spotify and other platforms.

Tåget till Wroclaw on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

It’s been a couple of years since I wrote about the duo Grapell. Meanwhile they have released some new singles where “Arrow” last year became a hit for them. That opened the door to the American market with the help of an American label, and the new single “Every Time” was also premiered on Beats 1 with Zane Lowe. This song is the second single from their upcoming EP “Love Chamber”, to be released on September 30th. Here they slow down the pace even further and make the time stop för a moment as Emil Erstrand picks out his most beautiful falsetto in this soul-tinged piece of cotton pop.

Grapells on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

In March she stood out with the most beautiful and the most moving song during Spring, “Vi vet ingenting”. Now Anna Jadéus has released the album “Håll ut” where the song has found its home. Already on the cover, with the album title and the rainbow-coloured umbrellas, she sends a message to the bedgrudged, the misunderstood and the lonely ones. It’s not a record full of fighting slogans, though, if anyone believes that, it’s rather an emotional and personal story from the inside, full of contrasts.

There’s a musically playful side with rythmic ukuleles as the base, where we all soon sing along in for example the title track. But there’s also a more serious side where time stops for a moment in in songs like “En sån som vill ha mer” or “Mörkret drar förbi”, painfully beautiful songs full of vulnerability and warmth. With small means she slowly builds up the songs into emotional and powerful anthems and throws us between melancholy and joy, but with a final message of hope, love and inner strength. The final song “Kommer vi klara oss?” (transl. “Will we make it?) is a journey which ends right there, but as the track has ringed out with beautiful euforia, it still leaves a worrying echo in my mind: are we all really going to make it in the end if we can’t learn to accept every person for who she is?

Anna Jadéus on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

“En sån som vill ha mer”:

“Håll ut”:

“Kommer vi klara oss?”