I last wrote about Elsa Ã…borg in 2018 with a single 'I Cave' and the gap has been such that when her new single 'Nico's Song' came out, I found myself frantically checking to see how many tracks, and maybe even EP's and Albums, we'd missed an interim. Turns out that this is the first track that she's put out since then, she clearly releases songs as frequently as I attend office parties.
Of course, her return is very welcome indeed and she is one of these artists that's really difficult to fit to place in a genre, with 'Nico's Song' demonstrating that really effectively. She describes the song as "moving in space between your dream and being awake.... a dark floating journey through space and time", with influences from trip, hop, jazz and grunge." It was written in memory of her friend Nico.
I think she's a really powerful songwriter. A resonating bass note opens before Elsa Ã…borg's vocals take centre stage, stripped back and exposed, almost quivering with anxiety and tension. Eventually a quite gorgeous trumpet breaks through, melancholy but staggeringly beautiful. It's a very striking track, just take a listen.
The lovely thing about this release is almost that it reminds me of her fantastic collection of tracks online, just 7 of them, but each with a different personality and style. I'd recommend you listen to them all, with 'Row' a particularly favourite of mine (I love the instrumental section), although 'Walker' is very different and almost surprising in the way it opens up.
It goes without saying that I hope it isn't another 5 years before we get to write about Elsa Ã…borg again. Find her on Facebook.