The duo Desperat K, whom I presented less than two years ago, released the single “Solo” a few weeks ago. Like before they serve us colours from the eighties with postpunk-vibing synthpop, here in a song that pulsates with melancholy in the dark Uppsala night. It grows into an epic, beautiful synth ballad, in a similar style as their first track “Östermalm”. Fortunately they have just started working on their first full length album, which we will be able to enjoy some time next year.

Desperat K on Facebook – on Soundcloud

When Jade Ell looked through the belongings her biological mother left behind, a mother she didn’t grew up with, she found a note which read: “Buy her an accordion – I think she wants to play…”. Many years later after the note was written, Jade had bought not just one accordion but several, and it was through some tones on the accordion the idea to her new single “The Riddle” was born. Rather fitting the song is about life as a riddle, a mystery we’re trying to solve where the solution inevitably escapes us by urging us out on new unknown journeys all the time.

And the song also serves some mystique in a suggestive, dreamy atmosphere emphasized by Stefany June’ reading of the lyrics while Jade’s vocals turns into a reinforced echo of the internal monologue. The song is fringed with dark synth lines, sunny strings and dramatic toms, but there is also a feeling that remains unresolved all through the track, which pushes us towards upcoming events, like in a soundtrack. And that goes hand in hand with her intention of the forthcoming tracks, which she describes as various scenes from her life, where this song sets the ambience.

Jade Ell has earlier released three solo albums and has been involved in several projects, both as a songwriter and as an artist. She is also the singer in the art rock band Xanima which I have written about before.

Jade Ell’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

After a long summer break I thought I should kickstart my season with the new single from the powerpop trio Rooni, “Who You are”. They surprise me with a more spacious and more polished sound than before, where glittering acoustic guitars set the mood in the song. Sometimes Tom Petty feels close, but here are also strokes of the sixties and indiepop from the nineties. They say that half the budget was spent on the recording and the other half on pancakes with strawberry jam, so the music video had to be produced with the little resources that remained. The single is the first one in a series of three, to be released this Autumn.

Rooni’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

The duo Death Team, Mayka Edd and Johan Tilli, have released their debut EP, “Death Team Loves You”, from which you can enjoy a few tracks here below. It’s an irresistible collection of electropop songs where they use much of their palette of naive cheekiness, playfulness, humour and sincerity. You can smile at the images they paint or just dance away without thinking about anything. They don’t complicate things, and I often recognize the melody hooks and the sounds, but still they sound like nobody else.

Death Team’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

The trio Ismael has recently released the song “Lukas” together with a video, a song they describe as a fiery pride pop song about the possibility to find a new  way out together with someone else. The track is taken from their album “Som om jag vaknar nu”, released in the beginning of this year.

That album is possibly the best I’ve heard so far with the band, so I thought I should let you taste some more of it with another song here below. They command the space between postpunk-vibing Swedish rock from the 80’s and grand-sounding indiepop with soaring guitar harmonies, a space they fill with earnestness and blackness in lyrics where they find their own angles on the issues we wrestle with today about our humanity.

Ismaels on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music