Pelle Carlberg

A quick look at the photo on the front of his solo debut might make people believe that Pelle Carlberg wants to sell you a used car. He doesn’t seem to fit the usual stereotype of a pop genius, but the seven years he spent as part of top Swedish band Edson would have you believe otherwise because they definitely had their moments. Everything. Now! isn’t a huge departure from his previous work but it does benefit from one thing: experience. While the earliest Edson albums were full of well-intentioned bursts of quiet indie pop, it never quite came fully together. These days, however, Carlberg is at the top of his game, writing songs about apparently mundane subjects that are much more interesting than they initially seem. For example, a song about telemarketing doesn’t sound good on paper, but in his hands it turns into a lovely paean to the power of the human voice. And the wonderfully titled "Go To Hell, Miss Rydell” tells the tale of a late night phone call to a critic who gave him a negative review, almost as a warning to any other critics assessing his work. Every song is jam-packed with clever, witty observations that make the comparison to fellow Swede Jens Lekman inevitable. Fortunately, neither artist comes out looking bad in such a comparison and there’s a good chance that Carlberg will be enjoying a similarly healthy cult following very soon.