
We frequently cover bands / artists spin off and solo projects, and I love to see the complex interconnecting relationships between bands. Swedish musician Linnea Hall has appeared in NMR previously as a member of indie band Kluster B, and now her solo project Loaver is on the brink of releasing a debut Album – it’s due out later this month.
Of course, for this of you familiar with Kluster B will probably guess that Loaver releases music that is on the experimental side of indie pop, and new single ‘Apart’ is a good example. But actually it’s pretty easy to get into too, so I don’t think anyone will find it too offbeat for their musical tastes.
She’s actually been fairly prolific in the last year, releasing a self titled EP in 2019 and with further singles early this year – including notably 'Drömmeri (om döden)', described as a “pendant to Debussy's Reverie” and touchingly released in memorial to grandmother on the day she passed away. It’s interesting how many artists take inspiration from Claude Debussy.
Anyway new single ‘Apart’ is just so atmospheric, the opening reverberates, rising in pitch, volume and continually building tension, before it’s finally all released in a climax close to 3 minutes in - yet Linnea Halls vocals remain so calm and haunting throughout. It’s unusual and very effective.
Writing about the track she says: “Apart was originally written for the Opera Festival in Brescia, Italy, in 2018. The song plays with an excerpt from Arrigo Boito’s Mephistopheles, why "he" in the end alludes to the rapture or, if one so wishes, the evil in us. Otherwise, the song is mostly a bundle of questions or reflections of the loneliness we share."
The album will certainly be interesting and a little different. When Linnea Hall reaches a field, she definitely heads left.
The album 'Fern' will be released on 30th October through the excellent Rama Lama Records. Pre-order the vinyl here.