Hello reader,
Welcome back. How are you? Hej svenska vänner (Hello Swedish friends)
Today, we’re going to delve into SunYears. This is the solo project of Peter Morén of the fantastic Swedish indie-pop group Peter Bjorn and John. Though Peter Bjorn and John is perhaps best known for “Young Folks” their highest charting song, other listeners may be more familiar with “Nothing to Worry About” among other songs in their strong nine album discography. Peter Bjorn and John is comprised of Peter Morén (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass, keyboards, vocals) and John Eriksson (drums, percussion, vocals) that saw mainstream success and is best known for some catchy earworm melodies and lyrics.
Delving more into Morén, Peter Morén grew up in the tiny village of Vika in the Swedish countryside inspired by heavy metal, folk and guitar-based pop music like The Byrds and The Beatles. At 10 years old Peter learned the guitar and later moved to a larger city where he met fellow musician and future band mate Björn Yttling where they got into other UK bands like Ride, The Stone Roses and Teenage Fanclub. All of those bands are worth checking out if you haven’t yet.
Under his own name, Morén released his first solo album The Last Tycoon (2008), followed by I Spåren Av Tåren translated in English to In The Tracks Of My Tears (2010), Pyramiden (2012), 40 (2017) and made an album with Swedish pop songwriter David Shutrick in 2019 entitled En Åldrande Befolkning translated to An Aging Population in English. Morén also released EPs of his Swedish language songs rewriting in English translations. Clearly and appropriate the two part series is titled Broken Swenglish and was released on the INGRID label. A collective that Morén was a founding member of.
During the pandemic in 2020 Morén began deeply exploring his place, his identity, his songwriting which lead to his studio debut under the SunYears moniker via 2023’s Come Fetch My Soul! Awhile back I heard some of the new SunYears songs and was instantly hooked. They were excellent songs and thus this was definitely an album I wanted to review and share with you on SWT. A few months ago Morén released a nice preview of his upcoming second SunYears album, in the form of the Spanner In The Works EP. Which brings us to the present day and the new album! The Song Forlorn is out via the Villa label on Thursday, August 21st for your listening pleasure.
According to the album’s press release, “Some of these songs, Morén contends, recall Peter Bjorn and John at their more lo-fi. In the main, however, he casts his stylistic net much wider on The Song Forlorn. ‘That’s not the phase I’m in right now,’ he explains. ‘I want to make albums that feel true and honest to my full range.'”
Morén further elaborated on the process saying, “Songwriting can feel like an addiction. There’s a constant pressure from new songs that wants your attention, that want to be finished, that want to be as good as they can be. They follow you through night and day. There’s melodies that won’t let go, and lyrical puzzles that you have to solve. Sometimes you want to leave it be, because what’s the point really? You can often feel like giving up as a creative, but how can you, really? It’s just who you are. You can’t stop. It keeps you alive, and it makes you move forward. And it’s generally a good force – a good addiction if you will. That’s why I made another album – I couldn’t forsake any of these songs.” And we the listeners, appreciate that they were shared with us and the renewed passion for songwriting. Thank you.
And now for some hype for your ears and eyes from SunYears’ YouTube channel:
The jangly melody and the 90’s video style for the song, “Dark Eyes”:
(All credits and rights to SunYears)
The gorgeous harmonies and strings within the song, “Last Night On The Mountain (ft. Lisa Hannigan & Sam Genders)”:
(All credits and rights to SunYears)
The frenetic and fitting pace within the video for the song, “(Going To A) Cruel Country”:
(All credits and rights to SunYears)
The animated adventure filled video for the song, “Spanner In The Works”:
(All credits and rights to SunYears)
The Song Forlorn is an incredible album from opening to closing notes. Morén achieved something truly great with this release and to me, he is on his way towards the full range he alluded to in an earlier quote. I say this with awe, he should be proud of this collection and yet there’s more left in the tank creatively. Which to me is remarkable. I’d argue that it is his best solo effort yet.
There’s a lot to like from the songwriting and word choice, to the exploration of life and existence and other often darker but realistic themes, to the musical instrumentation and song construction choices. Those pieces come together in unison in beautiful fashion throughout the album. The result is a wonderful listening experience that leaves you listening again and again.
The opening song is an instrumental, setting the tone for the journey. It is heavy with synth and discordant noise in its 1:15 of existence. The remainder of the songs are examples of gorgeous songwriting. And feature some amazing costars alongside Morén. Going into the album, the contributor I knew the most about was Nicole Atkins. I’ve been a fan since the first time I heard her solo work over a decade ago. Her songwriting is top notch and she’s been asked to co-write with some of the best in music for good reason. And her own solo music is great too. I know she’s well appreciated within the industry but more fans of music should know about her. Consider this your warning, reader. It’s no surprise that Atkins is fantastic in “The Body” on this album.
Lisa Hannigan and Sam Genders each have powerful voices but the outstanding harmony that both bring to “Last Night On The Mountain” cause the song to reach elevated levels of quality. Based in the UK, they are amazing songwriters and vocalists in their own right and they add so much to this song, causing me to listen again and again and appreciate it with each listen. Kudos to them both and their vocal contributions. The piano opening on “If You Were To Ask” immediately sets the mood and allows de clair’s mostly bittersweet vocals to shine when she’s singing solo but they also pair perfectly with Morén’s own. De clair also is given room and range within the song and the result is at times beautifully haunting sticking with you in the best ways. Madison Cunningham is the last contributor Morén enlisted for this album. I can’t recall the last album I listened to that had the titular track as the closing song. What am I forgetting? I like the stylistic choice coupled with arguably the best song on the album. It builds and grows, striding in melody and evolving. Cunningham has made a name for herself with five Grammy nominations and one win since 2020 for her own solo work. And her vocals on “The Song Forlorn” resonate with the notes, and provide the best compliment to Morén’s melodic pacing and song composition choices. Kudos to all involved in pairing artists and allowing them moments of greatness.
All that being said, The Song Forlorn gets 4.5 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. It’s an excellent album and among the best new album releases this year. To be more exact, I’d say that this album falls within the upper echelon of the 4.5 Scum Drops range so a rating within the 91st-95th percentile. Yeah, if you’ve read this far and haven’t thought about listening to the entire album, please finish this review and listen to the rest of the album. While it may not change your life, it’ll add some outstanding music to it. The Song Forlorn is worth adding to your collection on the formats of your choice. I’ll recommend one of those formats being the vinyl.
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. The listening process with The Song Forlorn will take 41 minutes from start to finish, less than an hour and a half if you listen twice back-to-back. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, I found the songs emboldened below to be my favorite songs on this album. Which is nearly all of them.
The Song Forlorn Track listing [song length]
- Where Are We [1:15]
- Dark Eyes [4:33]
- Last Night On The Mountain (ft. Lisa Hannigan & Sam Genders) [3:40]
- Your Dad Was Sad [2:25]
- (Going To A) Cruel Country [4:28]
- If You Were To Ask (ft. de clair) [3:59]
- Spanner In The Works [4:31]
- The Body (ft. Nicole Atkins) [4:26]
- Swamp Mob [4:29]
- The Song Forlorn (ft. Madison Cunningham) [7:15]
Total runtime: 40:55
For more about the album, check out Morén’s socials: Instagram, Facebook, listen to more music on YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music (English), and Apple Music (svenska)
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time (Adjö),
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
