Hanna Järver - Absolute Romance (White Vinyl)

Facts Doubt and courage led Hanna Järver into a new album. After two successful records - with countless radio singles, award nominations and a catalogue of songs loved by everyone who falls helplessly for introspective, bittersweetly precise lyrics - the inspiration was gone. The pandemic and a high release pace over many years had turned the music into an unhappy love.

"I was unsure whether I would continue, which is part of why it has taken a little longer this time. I decided to take a break, which felt like a relief, but it was also fairly soon after that I felt the urge again. Then you never know whether you have another record in you, but it came back!" - Järver

The new album "Absolute Romance" - Järver's first since 2020 - therefore more or less took its starting point in an ending. The renewal was found in a return to what has always worked best for the artist: writing, recording and producing herself. At the core is a closeness to the music, the sense that it must always come first and never feel like something to simply finish. Throughout her career, Järver has been praised for lyrics where both a high recognition factor and a tangled mystique have captured listeners. "Absolute Romance" continues the line of self-reflective, reference-rich and sharply incisive observations, but allows itself to be less cohesive than its predecessors. The self-criticism remains, but this time it mirrors the society around us.

"The whole record is very self-critical, just like the whole process has been self-critical. 'I haven't got where I want to be. I can't manage on my own. I can't even sing.' I think that's relatable and should carry some recognition. Most of us aren't that special. So when you write something about yourself, you also write about other people. This self-examination also exists in some kind of context of the outside world and how things look right now. We live in a society that becomes more and more individualistic, where you're supposed to be complete in yourself and succeed in every area of life. What does that do to a person? It's as if we've forgotten that the beauty of society is that we're different and need to help each other."

"Lyrically, it sets a kind of tone for all the songs. Here is my life, and I stand outside and watch. It feels like the whole record is a questioning of myself, of what I choose to spend my time on and what is really important. Like looking at yourself from the outside and not feeling like a part of your own life."

In the rebirth that Hanna Järver's third album represents, there is also a given, never-missing parameter: her unfailing sense for combining a perfectly melancholic pop melody with the ability to turn an entirely ordinary day into great art.

The album "Absolute Romance" - featuring, among others, Kasino and Isak Friberg.