The band We Are She, hailing from Härnösand, has recently made a comeback with the two-track single “My Baby”. The last time we heard from them was in 2012 with a full length album. The new songs are characterized by a spacious indiepop sound which they explore in full when they build up the songs and explode in massive guitars and a great energy. “My Baby” is, like they describe it themselves, a perfect party track which I’m sure will get the live audience going, while “Devine” is a bit slower song, intensifying step by step to into a grand-sounding pop explosion. What makes the songs really stand out, and what caught me directly in the first bars in “My Baby”, is Linnea Kempe’s wonderful voice. She has this unique tone and an expression which lifts the entire song to the inviting party ambience they strive for.

We Are She on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

It’s time to pick up the pen again and I do that in the company of the duo Anti Pony, Sanna Colling och Alexander Pierre, who have spent the Winter in the studio together with the producer Max-Måns Wikman (Dolores Haze, Those Dancing Days, Side Effects). On Thursday we get to hear the result, packaged as their first EP, “Alexander”. Here’s a taste from the album in the shape of the sweet, psychadelic and suggestive song “Pale Blue Hours”. They have refined their sound and radiate, if possible, even more vibes of the late 60’s, and a more prominent Hammond organ, than on the earlier singles, adds the finishing touch. Best so far from the duo, on all levels.

Anti Pony on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

The starting track “Overture” with a chanting, echoing piano, a growing dark atmosphere and a thin string on the verge of snapping immediately sets the ambience. When I listen to Jenny Garbrielsson Mare’s new album “Comb the Wicked” I’m reminded of the dark setting from her duo collaboration with Fredrik Jonasson, White Birches. But even if the electronic effects are important it is overall an organic sound that forms the base in these songs. Organ, piano, bass and percussion build a sparse, suggestive sound in a low tempo while Jenny’s soft vocals soars above it all like a spiritual being.

She wrote the songs while she was staying in Brooklyn two years ago and let the environment inspire the music in various ways. Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Avenue and the hot indian summer meet religious symbols, dark entities and thoughts about guilt in a sometimes almost meditative, nocturnal journey. The closest I can compare with is Nick Cave, but this is very much Jenny’s own sound in songs where she has broken out of the common structures. Here she also gets help from Michael Blair, an instrumentalist who has worked with artists like Tom Waits and Lou Reed, and here has added percussion and drums in a quite varied and well-sounding way, from the marching drums of “Dig Real Deep” to the gospel claps on “Hard Times”. It’s an album that really should be listened to from the beginning to the end, but I’ll give it a try to pick out two songs to taste here below:

Jenny Gabrielsson Mare’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Bandcamp

You may have encountered Gus Ring in a completely different context before, as a singer in the metal band Siberian. But here he’s all alone with his guitar in music he defines as acoustic dream pop. So far he’s released an album and two EP:s and is heading for a new full length record in April next year. The last EP “In search of the wonderful life” was a great listen and the first taste from the upcoming album, “Swim” here below, promises a lot for the album. Hear for yourself here.

Gus Ring’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Bandcamp

The quartet Ocean, hailing from Göteborg, couldn’t have chosen a better name considering their music. Because that’s how it feels. It’s dreamy, meditative and softly melodic, it’s soothing but sometimes also thrillingly grand-sounding, and all the time it’s very much alive. On their debut EP “In Another Place” the band has created a wonderful organic sound which feels like a blend of folk colours from before and indie pop. The three songs are all great tunes, each exploring a different mood, from the peaceful to the dramatic. Listen to two of the tracks here below.

Ocean on Facebook – on Spotify