Due in May, the third album from Malmo duo Wy sounds like it’s a scrapbook from the first two years of their marriage.
Many of the songs that Ebba and Michel Gustafsson Ågren were writing since they got married seemed to be revolving around one thing: their relationship.
“Not so much the relationship between us,” Ebba says, “but more about the internal conflicts that appear when you’re in a long-term, safe relationship, where you’re really sure about each other but you’re not sure about yourself.”
It’s a brave move from Wy to open up and expose their relationship to scrutiny like this. But then Wy have always been at their strongest when they’re at their most vulnerable.
The album is called ‘Marriage’ and the first single from it offers up a tantalising glimpse of what we can expect more of in May.
‘Come Here’ returns to the simpler sound of their earlier work. It’s clean, sharp as a pin, with Ebba’s delicate vocals out front and centre stage. There’s a simple picked guitar melody running through the whole thing that’s as clear and fresh as a mountain stream, and a ghostly wash of sampled vocals dancing around the edges of the song like some playful sprite. It’s an enchanting sound.
The lyrics have come from experiences they’ve shared, which they’ve worked together into what they want to say to everyone else, and perhaps to each other.
“I’m scared,” Ebba sings. “My brain is fried. I can smell burning.”
It sounds like someone coming apart at the seams, but in a safe space where it’s fine to unravel for a while in the arms of someone you love.
“You say come here, come here,” the song ends, and you know it’s going to be OK.