Sval is Oslo, Norway based singer Sval Rosenløw Eeg, a new name to me but one who released a single earlier this year (‘Jealousy’) and before that a popular 2019 EP ‘Young Alien’.
This song is being considered as potentially her “breakthrough moment.” It details a battle to save someone from themselves (“All I can do is light you a match / follow you way down to the deep end / you got to find your way back”).
She says, “It’s about caring for someone so much and wanting to do everything for them and then realising that you can’t really save anyone alone, but you can do your very best to try. I think we all have our demons and our struggles, and this song is about trying to help someone, whilst also trying to make them want to help themselves.”
I think I mentioned it in a previous review but there seem to be a lot of wholesome ‘caring’ songs around at the moment, I suppose the trend is driven by the common circumstances.
So does it stand out from the herd? She’s in that no-man’s land between pop and R&B which can be difficult territory. She isn’t helped by the imposition of an industrial jackhammer of a synth bass on the second verse and then again on the outro which blows her vocal away, and it does plod a bit.
Lyrically, it’s a different matter. Her words won’t be winning an Ivor Novello award but they are heartfelt (you do suspect this is a ‘true story’) and nicely appropriate and that’s what makes the song.
Like her compatriot Moyka, who we will review tomorrow, she looks very young for complex adult-themed subjects like this but if she’s game enough to tackle it good luck to her. Sval has already cultivated a devoted fan base in Norway and amassed millions of streams.
‘(I Can’t Be Your) Medicine’ was released 12th June via Little Big Music.
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