Having announced themselves with their self-titled album and the EP Medium Rare, Gothenburg‘s Agent blå have established a position as one of Sweden’s finest indie pop exports. Consisting of Emelie Alatalo (vocals), Felix Skörvald (guitar, synth), Lucas Gustavsson (guitar), Sebastian Falk (bass), Arvid Christensen (drums), and Tobias Bauer (keys, guitar, percussion), the band meld shoegaze textures and post-punk energy into something as immersive as it is momentous. Forthcoming album Stab! looks to build upon these foundations and raise the stakes further.
Coming this spring on VÅRØ Records (Sweden) and Kanine Records (US), Stab! sees Agent blå expand their reach to include elements of psychedelic and krautrock styles. The result is both their most ambitious album to date and something of a call back to their earliest songs. Single ‘Discount’ introduces the style, simmering with eerie menace and charged with forward motion, splitting the difference between familiarity and strangeness. “I see your outlines in the walls / I see your outlines clearer in the dark,” Alatalo sings, “She’s here / She’s here.” But for all the words’ haunting unease, there’s a cathartic edge to the song too. Finding some kind of comfort or power in delving into the dark.
Pick my brains
Like there’s substance left
Not across
Is my brain across your walls?She’s here
She’s here
