Alba Liv’s “softswallowfly” sits somewhere between lo-fi dream pop, trip-hop, and ‘90s post-rock. The track blends hazy guitars with soft textures to create a slow, hypnotic rhythm. There’s something dark and almost weightless about it, like the song is constantly drifting between dream and reality.
softswallowfly
into his cherry blossom eyes
his gentle wings
they move so light
takes nothing but a dream for
him to fly
into the cherry blossom sky
The track began at the former Kornmod studio in Copenhagen, where Alba and Casper Munns started writing together. After Casper continued the session with Jakob Folke Ivarsson, Alba later brought their ideas back together, reshaping the jam into the finished song and adding vocals. Jonas Torstensen also contributed banjo, while Jakob’s sampled drums from an old Himmelrum track became part of the final recording.
The song is the first single from Alba Liv’s debut full-length album, Hylaster, coming this fall!
The lyrics themselves contrast the dark haziness of the song and rather bring a sense of romance to the track. The imagery of ‘cherry blossom eyes’, wings, and flying gives it a soft, almost otherworldly quality, painting a dreamlike picture of someone being drawn into someone else’s world.
Alba’s voice, combined with the lo-fi dream pop track and the dreamy lyrics, creates a story in the song, one I look forward to experiencing over and over again.
Written by Emily Stabell
