In the age of all-access and constant self-confession, what do we really know about our favorite artists? Forget social media for a minute and consider another route – the works. Astrid Swan arrived with her debut album Poverina in 2005, a completely self-composed album, which not only displayed her songwriting gifts but her multi-instrumental skills and ambitious ways with the songwriting craft. Poverina caused a stir because women were not supposed to be so aware as regards their music in Finland. Elsewhere caught on too, so impressive was the album. US solo tours, and Killers cover that ignited the blogosphere way before Finnish artists were doing so, marked Astrid Swan out as not only special and groundbreaking, but different. Any easy categorization was dismissed when Astrid released her second album Spartan Picnic in 2008. Gone were the lush orchestral arrangements, replaced with an aggressive drums-and-piano missive that debated gun control and borrowed Sylvia Plath. Experimental and edgy as Spartan Picnic was, it still dented the TOP20 album chart. Melody had not been misplaced. Spartan Picnic saw Astrid Swan’s music played and released in more countries, all the while her reputation growing. But another turn was taken in 2009 with the introduction of a new band (The Drunk Lovers) and an album Better Than Wages that saw Astrid move into a traditionally masculine terrain: noisy indie rock. The songs were still of the Astrid Swan variety, but the piano had pretty much gone and been replaced by spiky guitars. Again, Better Than Wages was received with enthusiasm and saw Astrid and her Drunk Lovers tour the European continent in a way never achieved thus far.
Following Astrid Swan has been a winding road. So what next? No straight trajectory or consolidating tone is on offer with her – twists are what you should expect. After a short-lived stint with the biggest record label in the world, which ended with the label doubting the sanity of Astrid’s next project, she dived into the world of Pavement! A covers album of Pavement songs was to become her next release. A true solo experience started in late 2010: Astrid performed, produced recorded and mixed her Pavement opus all on her own. Through a method of controlled chaos she chose nine songs of the Malkmus variety, and using various electronic instruments, radically tackled her own highlights from the Pavement songbook. Despite there being no original Astrid Swan songs featured, the performances on Hits (Pavement For Girls) could be the ultimate expression of who Astrid Swan really is. Is this making any sense? Astrid Swan’s fourth album Hits (Pavement For Girls) is released late summer 2011. To get to know Astrid Swan, listen to the music. | |
