Another Form of Relief

For a little while, I was starting to think we’d heard the last of Hello Saferide. Everything had been quiet for a while, while Annika Norlin’s other project, the Swedish language Säkert! seemed to keep moving forwards. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded, and we not only have a new song from the Saferide song, but a whole new album, entitled More Modern Short Stories From.., will be released on September 24.

Anna continues Norlin’s walking of the very fine line between the endearing and the vaguely creepy. The song is Norlin singing about a lost daughter through her entire life, from little things like learning to play guitar and hockey right up to the parental wishlist of winning a Nobel Prize and curing AIDS. It actually feels like a rather sweet tale about a child that had passed away and what their life could have included. Of course, it’s actually far simpler than that. The whole exercise turns out to be a bitter flight of fancy. Still, what else should we expect from the woman who judges potential partners on whether or not they talk while watching Seinfeld?

If there is one thing we need more of, it’s vaguely creepy sounding stalker songs. Although, now that I think about it, Highschool Stalker sounds like it could be far creepier than it really is. Our narrator is obviously obsessed with her target, going to lengths like checking on his school grades, visiting his ex-girlfriends and even dropping in on his mother. Which would be pretty scary if not for the last lines that prove she isn’t really a threat after all.

It’s all rather upbeat and clappy, something else that probably helps the subject matter seem perfectly normal. By this point it’s already a little dated (“I’ve been on the Alta Vista” would probably be something about Facebook these days), but that doesn’t really matter. You’re too drawn in to worry about such details. By the end of the song, it doesn’t matter how strange her behaviour may be. You just want her to succeed in her quest.

Hello Saferide is the stage name of Annika Norlin, a singer-songwriter from Sweden who is turning into quite the sensation. She’s frequented the Swedish charts over the past year, and her critically acclaimed album (‘Introducing…’) and EP (‘Would You Let Me Play This EP Ten Times A Day?’) have both been issued in various countries across the world to a constantly growing fanbase. But who cares about all that?

I could rattle off facts until the cows come home, eat, rest and head back out again, and it still wouldn’t come close to describing why I love these songs. The main appeal in Hello Saferide’s songs is the character that Norlin portrays throughout. I don’t know how much of it is her and how much of it is a character, but it’s a wonderful listen nonetheless. Through all of these songs, with perhaps the exception of ‘San Francisco’, you can hear a progression of the narrator, each one forming a small part in the complete story of her life.

It’s through this that we see that the narrator is such a flawed character. She’s vulnerable, insecure and she’s not adverse to stalking the guy she likes. ‘Highschool Stalker’ is her diary of this, from looking him up on search engines to staking out his parents house to chatting with ex-girlfriends so “I know what I’ve got to expect”. In most cases, this would seem more than a little creepy, but with it’s upbeat, clappy nature and final refrain (“I swear, you nearly said hi / I could have died”) it’s obvious that she doesn’t really mean any harm.

‘The Quiz’ is where the mastery of Hello Saferide fully materalises though. She’s found a guy that she gets on well with and likes (even if he has a bit too much scifi in his shelf of DVDs). She’s vulnerable though so she puts together a quiz for him, with questions that range from the mundane (”Do you talk in the middle of Seinfeld?”) to the insecure (”Do you still keep pictures of old girlfriends? / Are they prettier than me?”) to the all important (”If I’d fall / Would you pick me up?”). Despite all of the neuroses, she still manages to win you over, and she becomes the kind of girl that you’d want to introduce to your parents. Even though she would probably be too scared to do that.

MP3 Hello Saferide – The Quiz (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – Highschool Stalker (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – Valentine’s Day (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – San Francisco (expired)

Hello Saferide: Website || Myspace || More mp3s

#9
Hello Saferide
‘The Quiz’

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Myspace

I only discovered Hello Saferide at the end of the year so I haven’t had the chance to write a full post yet, but very few artists have grabbed my attention to the same degree in the past year. Hello Saferide is the solo project of Annika Norlin, a singer songwriter from Sweden. What appeals to me most is that each song has a ton of personality shining through. Norlin isn’t afraid to project herself entirely into her songs, leaving each one with a kind of brutal honesty. The darkness of this is countered by a ton of little knowing references and quirks that just make the whole thing seem so real. At the forefront of this is ‘The Quiz’, the first song from her recent ‘Would You Let Me Play This EP Ten Times A Day?’ EP. She’s found a guy that she gets on well with and likes (even if he has a bit too much scifi in his shelf of DVDs). She’s vulnerable though so she puts together a quiz for him, with questions that range from the mundane (“Do you talk in the middle of Seinfeld?”) to the insecure (“Do you still keep pictures of old girlfriends? / Are they prettier than me?”) to the all important (“If I’d fall / Would you pick me up?”). Kind of a far less annoying version of Alanis’ ‘21 Things I Want In A Lover’.

#8
Art Brut
‘Nag Nag Nag Nag’

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Myspace

There isn’t really anything new here to the Art Brut formula, but surely that’s half the point? I had minor fears about new material not being a patch on the first album because the novelty would wear off, but despite it’s similarities, ‘Nag Nag Nag Nag’ works just as well for me as the old stuff. The whole thing can be seen as the story of ‘My Little Brother’ after the guy grows up, although I have no idea if that was intentional. Anyway, the Art Brut style remains the same as it was before: driving guitars, random bursts of energy and a witty song about a music dork delivered in Eddie Argos’ usual half-talking, half-shouting, half-singing (yes, I’m aware that’s three halves) style.

#7
4 or 5 Magicians
‘Forever On The Edge’

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Myspace

“4 or 5 Magicians are a four piece, led by Dan Ormsby, who did pretty much everything on their recorded songs, and takes charge of vocals and guitar duty when the band play live. The most obvious thing in Ormsby is that he has based his style on an influence not often seen in British bands: Stephen Malkmus. ‘Forever On The Edge’ has “slacker anthem” written all over it. A brash, honest song about wasting one’s life and almost depending on becoming famous to be successful (”I’m wasting my time in this band / Pinning all my hopes on getting signed / Well it could happen / Some idiot might sign us”). It’s this kind of witty, self-aware writing that first drew me to the band, and that they have the sound to back it up is even better.” – originally posted July 18.

#6
Belle & Sebastian
‘Funny Little Frog’

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Myspace

By far the best song on ‘The Life Pursuit’ and one of the finest that Belle and Sebastian have put out in years. The usual B&S staples are here, as well as a couple of new things like a piano, which they really don’t utilise anywhere near enough. Murdoch really throws himself into the vocals too, giving one of his strongest performances since ‘Your Cover’s Blown’. It’s either the official theme song for stalking or a love letter to the Virgin Mary depending on how you listen, bringing just over three minutes of perfection.

#5
Voxtrot
‘The Start of Something’

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Myspace

I know this technically was released in 2005, but the ‘Raised By Wolves’ EP it’s taken from didn’t get released in the UK until 2006, so I’m going to go with that excuse. Anyway, if you’ve read more than a handful of music blog in your lifetime you’re probably aware of who they are and who they sound like. This one sounds rather like The Smiths, and it’s incredibly good, particularly given that I don’t like The Smiths very much. I’m not entirely sure what it all means, as it seems to change focus an awful lot, but it’s full of wonderful imagery that’s delivered beautifully. If a full album next year doesn’t make them explode into the limelight Death Cab style, I’ll be very surprised.

#4
Kate Nash
‘The Nicest Thing’

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Myspace

“‘The Nicest Thing’ is up there with the best new songs that I have heard this year. It’s her most stripped down effort, just a sparse acoustic guitar and her voice, which helps an awful lot. This allows her voice, which manages to be both mournful and grounded at the same time, to become the centrepiece of the song. There is also a wonderful knack for random conversational lyrics here (”I wish that you needed me / I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three”). Granted the production is pretty awful here, with the vocals becoming distorted in the louder parts, but even through that the strength of this song shines through. If it were to be cleaned up a little in a studio, it could be amazing.” – originally posted June 15.

#3
The Young Republic
‘Girl From The Northern States’

Website
Myspace

The Young Republic are an eight piece (I’m sure there used to be nine though) indie folk pop band from Boston. If you’ve ever been through this blog before, you will have read me rambling about them on a fairly regular basis, so I’ll spare you here. Despite finding it very early on in the year, ‘Girl From The Northern States’ is still one of my most regularly played songs. It’s a gentle, melancholy tale of lost love that sounds more cheerful than it really has any right to. Combine this with a delightful orchestral background and you’ve got what is, for me, an almost perfect pop song.

#2
The Light Footwork
‘The Art of Everyday Communication Part 1′

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Myspace

The Light Footwork were the perfect example of why I started this blog in the first place. Pushing a band as good them onto unsuspecting readers is what makes this whole thing so worthwhile. A lot of songs come and go, but there are some that grab you immediately and never let go. ‘The Art of Everyday Communication Part 1′ is one of those. It starts off interestingly enough and then jumps up a gear a little way in, morphing into an entirely different song. Constantly time shifting and styles and pitch perfect male-female vocals make for an always surprising but constantly enjoyable listen.

#1
Los Campesinos!
‘You! Me! Dancing!’

Website
Myspace

“Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece from Cardiff who have seemingly already mastered how to make the perfect pop song. Best of all, they manage to bring a glockenspiel to the proceedings. Standout song ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ is just sheer joy from start to finish, it’s six and a half minute runtime actually feeling like half that. Jangly guitars combined with harmonising combined with witty, gleeful lyrics, and you’ve got a winning combination.” – originally posted July 4.

I wrote that six months ago and I’ve only grown to love this band even more in the time since. During which I’ve posted more songs from them, including fun things like a Pavement cover and other songs have turned up on the net. I saw them live back in September and will be doing so again in March. When I (and a number of other blogs) first wrote about them, they had around 600 friends on Myspace. They now have over 3000. At that time, they had no label and just a four track demo. They are now signed to Wichita and will be releasing their debut double a-side single in the new year. It cost me £3 to see them last time. It’s going to cost £6.50 this time. What I’m getting at here is that Los Campesinos! have been by far the biggest success story of 2006. Few bands arrive so fully formed and garner so much attention so quickly. I can think of nowhere more deserving though. 2007 should be a hell of a year for them, and us.

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Well that’s my favourite nine songs of the year. It turned into a little bit of a slog toward the end, but I’m pleased with how it all turned out in the end. This brings to an end any kind of organised posting structure until this kind of time last year. This will probably be the last thing that I post in 2006, so I’ll wish you all a happy calender change now. This year has been a hell of a lot of fun for me, and this blog has been a big part of that. So thanks to everybody that stopped by, even if it was just to grab the songs. I’ve got a lot of great music to write about in the early days of 2007, so come on back and let me share the good music with you.

I got this song from Songs:Illinois a while ago and it’s been playing pretty regularly on my iPod ever since. Which is appropriate given it’s title of ‘iPod X-Mas’. Anyway, it’s by Hello Saferide, which is the strange stage name of Annika Norlin, an incredibly neurotic young woman from Sweden. It’s also led me to explore more of her music and I love it. So a Christmas song has led me to discover something awesome. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that.

I’ll be writing about her in more detail in the near future, so I’m just going to focus on the one song now. I’m not sure I could name another festive song half as bitter as this one. Her boyfriend has left her in the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas (“As for presents you fuck / I had an iPod Nano with your name written on it”) leading to this rather angry tirade. All of which makes the whole thing sound rather depressing, when in reality it isn’t. The song itself sounds incredibly jolly, and Norlin’s voice is a joy to behold, whichever mood she is in.

MP3 Hello Saferide – iPod X-Mas (expired)