Today we feature something slightly different from our norm, because 'Saga Back' may have more of a widespread (even commercial) appeal than many indie artists we love writing about. But we think she is a really special artist, and her new track 'Cry' has really captured our imagination - mainly for the quality of the vocals, but also because of the compelling nature of her songwriting.
So 'Saga Back' is a 20 year old Gothenburg based singer songwriter, and 'Cry' is just her 2nd single - a follow up to the track 'There You Go.... Again', which was released to some success late last year. Influenced by musicians such as Jorja Smith and Seinabo Sey, 'Saga Back' has been writing material for years, but has now started releasing material through the Swedish imprint Something Beautiful.
'Cry' is a mesmerizing song, opening with just vocals alone there is no hiding place, but nor does there need to be because her voice has this natural conviction that takes complete control of the song. It then opens up to allow the range of vocal talents to shine though, with a quirky interesting melodic line that makes it feel relevant and easy to listen to. The theme behind the song is nicely thought through too, it's based on a line she heard in a documentary about volcanoes,''It's absolute destruction and creation at the same time" - with 'Saga Back' relating that to the process of recreating yourself when you go through a big 'hit' in life.
This is 'Cry':
There is something quite simple about the approach here, but behind it this is a confident well written song and 'Saga Back' has an outstanding voice, which really think will get some natural (not hyped) appreciation.