waterbaby’s Memory Be a Blade Is Out Worldwide
“With its gentle percussion, trembling strings and sweet, cooed harmonies, the song has the intimate, handmade quality of a scrapbook.” [“Memory Be a Blade”] - New York Times
Today, March 6th, waterbaby’s debut full-length, Memory Be a Blade, is available on CD/LP/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The 8-track long player features the songs “Amiss”, “Beck n Call”, “Clay”, “Memory Be a Blade”, and today’s new offering, “Srs Ice.”
On Memory Be a Blade, the Stockholm, Sweden-born singer-songwriter’s second release on Sub Pop, the nostalgia runs deep. Her follow-up to 2023 EP Foam is darker, richer, and more personal than ever. She wanted her lyrics to dig deeper and evolve her writing forward, something she accomplishes stunningly across the eight-track project.
To spark inspiration for her new lyrics, waterbaby reflected on a past break-up. She had moved on and was seeing someone new while recording the album. But when the newer relationship ended, she witnessed how much the album took on a new meaning to reflect the heartbreak she hadn’t anticipated experiencing.
“Many of the songs came to mean very different things than what I had thought when writing them in the first place,” waterbaby admits.
In the two years following Foam, waterbaby and her primary collaborator, Marcus White, took their time to get the album right. They wrote and recorded around Stockholm, the south of Sweden, and even Los Angeles. As it took shape, however, waterbaby began to notice how much she would stiffen up behind the microphone. She admits she gets quite shy in the studio, opting for the familiarity of people like White to stay by her side. But in order to take her words and sound deeper, White encouraged her to improvise what she sang instead of writing it out ahead of time.
Her improvisations were paired with compositions that reflected waterbaby’s classical background. White played piano alongside his lush and ethereal arrangements of string and horn parts. Musicians like violinist Oliva Lundberg, cellists Filip Lundberg and Kristina Winiarski, saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo, trombonist Hannes Falk Junestav, and flutist Pelle Westlin round out the dreamy ensemble (read more at Sub Pop).
waterbaby will begin an 8-date UK & EU headline tour for 2026 in support of Memory Be a Blade. These shows will begin on March 19th in Gothenburg, Sweden, along with dates in Stockholm, London, Paris, and Berlin. Additional live shows to be announced soon. See below for a current list of shows.
On Memory Be a Blade, the Stockholm, Sweden-born singer-songwriter’s second release on Sub Pop, the nostalgia runs deep. Her follow-up to 2023 EP Foam is darker, richer, and more personal than ever. She wanted her lyrics to dig deeper and evolve her writing forward, something she accomplishes stunningly across the eight-track project.
To spark inspiration for her new lyrics, waterbaby reflected on a past break-up. She had moved on and was seeing someone new while recording the album. But when the newer relationship ended, she witnessed how much the album took on a new meaning to reflect the heartbreak she hadn’t anticipated experiencing.
“Many of the songs came to mean very different things than what I had thought when writing them in the first place,” waterbaby admits.
In the two years following Foam, waterbaby and her primary collaborator, Marcus White, took their time to get the album right. They wrote and recorded around Stockholm, the south of Sweden, and even Los Angeles. As it took shape, however, waterbaby began to notice how much she would stiffen up behind the microphone. She admits she gets quite shy in the studio, opting for the familiarity of people like White to stay by her side. But in order to take her words and sound deeper, White encouraged her to improvise what she sang instead of writing it out ahead of time.
Her improvisations were paired with compositions that reflected waterbaby’s classical background. White played piano alongside his lush and ethereal arrangements of string and horn parts. Musicians like violinist Oliva Lundberg, cellists Filip Lundberg and Kristina Winiarski, saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo, trombonist Hannes Falk Junestav, and flutist Pelle Westlin round out the dreamy ensemble (read more at Sub Pop).
waterbaby will begin an 8-date UK & EU headline tour for 2026 in support of Memory Be a Blade. These shows will begin on March 19th in Gothenburg, Sweden, along with dates in Stockholm, London, Paris, and Berlin. Additional live shows to be announced soon. See below for a current list of shows.
Thu, Mar. 19 Gothenburg, SE - Nefertiti
Fri, Mar. 20 Lund, SE - Mejerlet
Sat, Mar. 21 Linköping, SE - Babettes
Sun, Apr. 12 Stockholm, SE - Södra Teatern
Wed, Apr. 15 London, UK - The Lower Third
Thu, Apr. 16 Paris, FR - Popup!
Fri, Apr. 17 Rotterdam, NL - MOMO
Sun, Apr. 19 Berlin, DE - Frannz
What people are saying about waterbaby:
“waterbaby makes music that is funny, heartfelt and intimate, cramming earworm hooks into warped bedroom pop production.”- The Guardian
“With themes about love and loneliness, waterbaby’s songs both break you and build you back up.” - Bandcamp Daily
“Under the gaze of auto-tuned vocals and alt-rock textures, waterbaby has forged something wholly original and awing.” - Paste
“An unguarded DIY R&B moment coming out of the Swedish capital.” - The FADER
“A real jewel, a thrilling and evocative slice of future-facing pop” - CLASH
“worth a few hundred plays.” - Loud and Quiet
“the Swedish artist’s knack for instant classics is no accident” - DIY
“waterbaby’s writing feels both fragile and fearless, cementing her status as one of alt-pop’s most quietly devastating new voices.” - Wonderland
“beautiful” - Notion
Fri, Mar. 20 Lund, SE - Mejerlet
Sat, Mar. 21 Linköping, SE - Babettes
Sun, Apr. 12 Stockholm, SE - Södra Teatern
Wed, Apr. 15 London, UK - The Lower Third
Thu, Apr. 16 Paris, FR - Popup!
Fri, Apr. 17 Rotterdam, NL - MOMO
Sun, Apr. 19 Berlin, DE - Frannz
What people are saying about waterbaby:
“waterbaby makes music that is funny, heartfelt and intimate, cramming earworm hooks into warped bedroom pop production.”- The Guardian
“With themes about love and loneliness, waterbaby’s songs both break you and build you back up.” - Bandcamp Daily
“Under the gaze of auto-tuned vocals and alt-rock textures, waterbaby has forged something wholly original and awing.” - Paste
“An unguarded DIY R&B moment coming out of the Swedish capital.” - The FADER
“A real jewel, a thrilling and evocative slice of future-facing pop” - CLASH
“worth a few hundred plays.” - Loud and Quiet
“the Swedish artist’s knack for instant classics is no accident” - DIY
“waterbaby’s writing feels both fragile and fearless, cementing her status as one of alt-pop’s most quietly devastating new voices.” - Wonderland
“beautiful” - Notion
waterbaby
Memory Be a Blade
Tracklisting:
1. Sink
2. Memory Be a Blade
3. Clay
4. Beck n Call
5. Minnie
6. Minnie Too
7. Amiss
8. Srs Ice
Memory Be a Blade
Tracklisting:
1. Sink
2. Memory Be a Blade
3. Clay
4. Beck n Call
5. Minnie
6. Minnie Too
7. Amiss
8. Srs Ice
No comments:
Post a Comment