Neon Neon - Hello Saferide

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 28 / 10 / 2008

intro

Malcolm Carter examines the career of Hello Saferide, the project of talented Swedish-songwriter Annika Norlin, who despite being barely into her 20's has already released her third album in English

Annika Norlin, a Swede just into her third decade, is likely to gain more attention than Stina Nordenstam or Ane Brun or any of the other Scandinavian female singer / songwriters because not only do her songs have melodies that are immediate but her songs are little stories that, even if we can’t actually relate to them personally, never fail to raise a smile. Shattering the myth that icy-cool Swedes don’t have a sense of humour Norlin, who performs under the moniker of Hello Saferide, also proves that she is, without a doubt, Sweden’s most talented artist. When we think about pop music and Scandinavia the one band that has to be mentioned is, of course, Abba. While it would take a fool to deny that Abba was a classic singles band it is obvious that when it came to albums they didn’t have a clue. Had the band continued it might have been a different story. Their last album as a band, ‘The Visitors’, was the nearest they ever got to a classic album so if they had continued who knows what they would have achieved. Live they were pretty good but maybe the visual appeal took our minds off the sound. So as Annika Norlin has, so far, released two classic albums, it would seem that, apart from having the same county issuing passports, she has little in common with her country’s most famous export. But Norlin’s success owes a lot to the band who first put Sweden on the musical map. The second to last of Abba’s run of classic singles while they were still a band, ‘The Day Before You Came,’ was a radical departure for the group. Lyrics that were spoken rather than sung and which condensed a whole working day into 5 and a half minutes was the blueprint for everything Norlin has released so far, certainly in her English-language records anyway. ‘More Modern Short Stories From Hello Saferide’ is Norlin’s third English language release. ‘Introducing Hello Saferide’ was her first album which came out in 2005 swiftly followed by an E.P. titled ‘ Would You Let Me Play This E.P. 10 Times A Day?’ which featured two songs that were heavily played on Swedish radio at the time, namely ‘The Quiz’ and ‘2006’. In between those releases Norlin released a Swedish language album under the name ‘Säkert!’ Before she started her musical career Norlin worked as a journalist and also as a presenter for a national Swedish radio station so she is no stranger to performing or getting her voice heard, but it is in her catchy melodies and humorous / down to earth lyrics that she really shines. Vocally, especially on her earlier recordings she has one of those ‘indie little-girl-lost’ voices which you either love or loath. I just happen to love it, especially when Norlin is so talented at describing normal everyday things so well in her songs. She’s a female equivalent of Difford and Tilbrook. She pokes fun at the mundane things we all do. She sings songs about people we know, our families, our friends, the guy down the road and wraps it all up in such memorable tunes you’ll be humming them all day. There’s nothing complicated about the melodies Norlin composes. In fact most of them recall long-forgotten tunes from our childhood. They truly are childlike melodies but Norlin throws in enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. Just one look at the titles of some of the songs on her debut will give some indication of what to expect from this talented Swede, ‘I Thought You Said Summer Is Going To Take The Pain Away’ and ‘If I Don’t Write This Song Someone I Love Will Die’ both visit places and situations we have all been in. The highlight of that album, however, is undoubtedly ‘Long Lost Penpal’ a sad tale of how contact is lost for 10 years between pen pals and which ends with the male confessing he is 46 years-old and trapped in a marriage and who was “trying to find my way back to what it’s like to be young” while admitting that there were other lies in the letters which hopefully made his life seem more interesting. You end up feeling sorry for him despite the lies. ‘San Francisco’ from the same album is the most upbeat tune on the record with a chorus that is so catchy it just won’t leave you alone for the rest of the day and also features Norlin turning in some of her best little-girl-lost vocals. But Norlin’s latest batch of songs are her best work to date. Apart from what might be a dubious obsession with losing your virginity (two songs touch upon the subject. One, ‘X Telling Me About The Loss Of Something Dear At Age 16’, is equally funny, sad and touching) Norlin’s lyrics will have you smiling one minute, have your eyes welling up the next and thinking she is singing about you or someone you know constantly. ‘Anna’ the first single from the album, is classic Norlin. Telling the tale about the daughter she would have had if the child’s father “hadn’t moved on and left me” she lists the things her unborn child would have done with her life; “she would have been a sweetheart, but with punk rock manners”… “I could have taught her the guitar, and her granddad could have shown her the way to the bar”…”she would have married a Kennedy, she would have found the cure for HIV” but when Norlin sings “and she’d never have to know what it’s like when your heart breaks” it proves just how talented she is at conveying not just a parents hopes but their fears as well. But maybe the opening song, ‘I Wonder Who Is Like This One’, is a contender for the best song on this album. Likening people to songs Norlin comes to the conclusion that the best people are ‘God Only Knows’ while she is ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ ; annoying at times but makes you want to dance. But it’s only a contender for the best song because as soon as the following tune, ‘2008’ kicks in, and it does kick, its nagging melody will be a permanent fixture in your head. With superb production handled by Andreas Mattsson who first came to notice with Sweden’s second best band Popsicle this young Swede has, over two albums and an EP shown that she may well be adding to the two Grammy awards she has already won.

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