We’ve had a few artists that have used Abbey Road studios to record here in the UK but I can’t remember one before now that has recorded in Soundtrade Studios, which was heavily used by ABBA.
Mamma Mia! Now we’ve found one, in the shape of Swedish genre-bender (I misread the press release as gender bender at first, I should have gone to Specsavers!), Fredrik Norlindh, who has just released this single ’Can’t You See Me,’ in advance of his forthcoming album, ‘Contrasting Notes.’
I have to admit that once I heard of the ABBA connection I was on the lookout for influences from the super group that is perpetuated as holograms in a theatre somewhere just off Piccadilly Circus I believe, but which simply had no peers when the humans called it a day, and arguably ever since.
I suppose you could identify an influence if you tried but ’Can’t You See Me’ is more of a half-speed Erasure track and one that build consistently with no surprises to an anthemic climax in a Eurovision perfect three minutes.
(I’m not suggesting it should be a Eurovision entry by the way, just saying that it does tick a lot of those boxes).
It is a little different from your average synth-pop track in that there is a measured amount of melancholy in it and trying to judge exactly how to add that sadness to what are traditionally up-tempo songs is more difficult than any haute cuisine challenge that might be set on Masterchef.
The melancholy arises out of the history of the song, which came from a real-life experience; a day filled with mishaps that ultimately caused Norlindh to miss a crucial meeting. Instead of sympathy, he was met with criticism (“where the hell have you been?” I guess), intensifying the feeling of helplessness.
He certainly knows how to develop tension, for example with sudden rapid injections of orchestration, as if the Candyman had just appeared in the bathroom mirror with his meat hook for a hand, skills that suggest he would make a good film director.
The song starts off with a cacophony of noise as if he’s stuck in a traffic jam in Rome and a bass line standing in for a tachycardic heartbeat. Alternatively, it could a critical moment in a movie, such as when Jason Bourne discovers who killed his father or sees one of his girlfriends blown away by an ‘asset’.
He has no gas in the tank and has to run for a bus with his “helmet in his hand” (that line caused some mirth, I’ll tell you).
Things get no better when he finally gets to wherever he was going, and the title line suddenly surfaces.
“Hey now, can’t you see me?” can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly as a reasonable question after arriving tardily for a meeting, but as the song progresses, panic sets in and it sounds like a plea for recognition that he even exists.
Musically, I like the sounds he producers out of synthesisers, which roughly mimic percussive instruments like glockenspiel and vibraphone.
The only part of the song which could be perhaps improved on is the airy-fairy ending which lacks any substantial gravitas.
Otherwise, it’s as solid a piece of synth-pop as you could expect to find.
Now here’s a thing or two.
His 2024 EP, featuring over 100 musicians, showcased his ability to blend orchestral grandeur with contemporary production, and ‘Contrasting Notes’ promises to explore further that duality.
He is also singer and songwriter for the band Comfort Addict.
And his degree thesis focused on The Phantom of the Opera, which perhaps helps explain why his music is steeped in theatricality and dramatic storytelling.
So which is the best cover version (of many) of the introduction to The Phantom of the Opera, Fredrik? I’m forever on the side of Nightwish. Over to you.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FredrikNorlindhArtist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredriknorlindh/
