I reckon many musicians do feel it is them against the world, what with the pittance they get paid for promoting their material to us via streaming services.
Little Lies is what the duo describes as a passion project from the established musicians and friends Mikael Nordgren and Anna Maria Espinosa.
The debut EP from which this title track, ‘Us against the world’ is taken is, “a small snapshot of what to expect from our forthcoming concept album ‘Destination Unknown’”. Now there’s a thing. I typically relate concept albums to the 1970s and 80s but the few contemporary ones I’ve heard have mainly come out of Sweden.
They add, “We wanted these songs to tell relatable moving stories alongside a contemporary sound that draws inspiration from our songwriting heroes of the past” who are Fleetwood Mac (I guess that’s where their name came from), Crosby Stills & Nash, Warpaint, King Tubby and Twin Peaks.
It is evident that they can’t easily be pigeon-holed genre-wise. ‘Us against the world’ is a mish-mash of pop and rock but if push came to shove I’d argue it is more psychy than anything else, and it is certainly catchy.
There is a sense of strength and determination in the melody which stand in contrast to what are, let’s be honest, pretty depressing lyrics.
It would seem that it amounts to a break up song, the other half of the partnership “fell away” but “found their way to a brighter day” having survived what they’d been though as an item, taking on the world.
It’s all quite sad with little sign of redemption and Anna Maria’s vocal, almost schoolgirl-like at times, adds to the sense of hopelessness and despair. When she sings “and now I’m trembling” you want to reach out and comfort her.
No vocalist can ask for a stronger reaction.
The EP was released on June 16th via Cosmos Music. The five-track EP also includes previous singles ‘Carolina’ and ‘Swallowed up in Space’ alongside the new tracks ‘Signals Crossed’ and ‘Destination Unknown’.
The forthcoming album ‘Destination Unknown’ will follow later this year.
The pair had forged successful music careers separately across Sweden for over a decade. Anna Maria is one of Sweden’s most established singers and has in addition to her own solo career sung with the likes of Neneh Cherry, Grammy Award-winning American soul singer Billy Paul and Kevin Rowland, the front man for Dexys Midnight Runners among many others.
Stockholm-based Mikael Nordgren, aka Tiger Stripes, has forged a solid international career as a prestigious and sought-after underground producer, remix specialist and DJ.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleLies.Music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littleliesofficial/
