"getting lost in the wild blue yonder / in the solace of my favorite author / the sky is bending with the twist in the ending / life is heaven sent / life is heaven sending..."
I was going to begin this write up by describing the song as stripped back, as in a stripped back performance but it occurs to me that saying this suggest that things, whether other instrumentation or vocal harmonies have been left out. Saying this would just be a tendency to rely on past things said, a writer's cliché, but nothing would be further from the truth because the tender beauty of "Summer in Sweden" by Nashville singer-songwriter Melanie MacLaren performed LIVE with acoustic guitar and voice only is perfect. Nothing else is needed.
Now rumor has it (wink) that you can find a studio version of this song on her 2023 sophomore EP "Tourist" that along with selected cuts from her first 2022 EP "Kill My Time" garnered 2.5 million streams (notably Spotify Fresh Finds and Spotify’s Best of 2022 Fresh Folk Finds), but this incredible live version of "Summer in Sweden" is, in fact, the first version I have heard and I don't want to hear another version, at least not right now. This one feels too special to me.
AND there is a lot of specialness here. MacLaren's poetry alone here, even just read is stunning. A lot of lyrical gems here and strung together on her vocal melody that, at times, feels like memories recalled, like little personal confessions not meant for public consumption is beautifully constructed. Within the classic folk acoustic shapes she plays this song could have been written in the 40's or 50's and every decade since. The vocal cadence sometimes rushed, sometimes stilted or meandering is incredibly artful in it's emotionalism and the words (again) something to behold. I also adore how the chorus, each time sung, begins the same way but then changes lyrically.
The storytelling here makes me think of Gillian Welch, Paul Simon, Kasey Chambers, Phoebe Bridgers or maybe sonic DNA of all of them distilled together with MacLaren's.
AND there is a lot of specialness here. MacLaren's poetry alone here, even just read is stunning. A lot of lyrical gems here and strung together on her vocal melody that, at times, feels like memories recalled, like little personal confessions not meant for public consumption is beautifully constructed. Within the classic folk acoustic shapes she plays this song could have been written in the 40's or 50's and every decade since. The vocal cadence sometimes rushed, sometimes stilted or meandering is incredibly artful in it's emotionalism and the words (again) something to behold. I also adore how the chorus, each time sung, begins the same way but then changes lyrically.
"Bought a book by Sinead O'Connor
Stained the pages and stared out at the water
I took a note when she said that songs are ghosts
I guess if anybody knows she knows
And I'm gonna take her word for it
Gonna say goodbye and be okay with it
Gonna give my life to a lost cause
Gonna give what is to what once was"
Stained the pages and stared out at the water
I took a note when she said that songs are ghosts
I guess if anybody knows she knows
And I'm gonna take her word for it
Gonna say goodbye and be okay with it
Gonna give my life to a lost cause
Gonna give what is to what once was"
FROM LINER NOTES:
[After touring extensively in 2023 and early 2024, Melanie realized certain songs moved listeners differently live than recorded, so she decided to record 4 of her songs live to tape for an EP to capture the storytelling nature of these songs -- this is the first single.]
"[Outro]
'Cause every time I write a song
It lives but it don't live long
Just hangs around forever
Even though the life I gave it is all gone"
'Cause every time I write a song
It lives but it don't live long
Just hangs around forever
Even though the life I gave it is all gone"
-Robb Donker Curtius
+ + +
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2R1li8gWj9IYRHBAHzylbF
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6U-ivcM7kX_NZcRnCV1IQ
https://www.instagram.com/melaniemaclaren
https://www.facebook.com/melaniemaclarenmusic
Melanie MacLaren, Nashville, folk, acoustic folk, folk indie, singer-songwriter, "Summer in Sweden" (Live Video Performance), upcoming LIVE EP, 2023 second EP "Tourist",
+ + +
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2R1li8gWj9IYRHBAHzylbF
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6U-ivcM7kX_NZcRnCV1IQ
https://www.instagram.com/melaniemaclaren
https://www.facebook.com/melaniemaclarenmusic
https://melaniemaclaren.bandcamp.com/track/summer-in-sweden-2
Melanie MacLaren’s natural aptitude for nuanced delivery, wistful guitar playing, and her ability to write about life as if life were simply writing itself is everything you could want from a modern folk musician.
Melanie’s music has been described as “if an acoustic Phoebe Bridgers had Dylan’s poetic magic" (The Wild is Calling). She has the unique artistic ability to combine a signature tongue-in-cheek sensibility with timeless folk style; her compositions feature classic finger-style guitar, distorted trad instruments, ambient beds and lyrics that have been described as “haunting yet humorous” and possessing a “sentimental cynicism” that “oozes with Gen-Z relatability.”
She released her stunning debut EP “Kill My Time” in 2022 independently to enthusiastic critical reception before gaining the attention of Tone Tree Distribution in Nashville. Within a few months of the release, she had signed with Tone Tree, landed several coveted playlist spots, and released a second EP of duets entitled "Tadpole Emporium" with established Dublin songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly which they toured together in the UK and Ireland.
Melanie released her second solo EP “Tourist” in April 2023. With tracks featured on multiple playlist placements across platforms (most notably Spotify Fresh Finds and Spotify’s Best of 2022 Fresh Folk Finds), garnering over 2.5 million streams across platforms.
Following the release, Melanie went on her first US headline tour with Northeast and Midwest runs, playing 25 shows. Melanie has shared bills with both established and rising folk artists like Lorkin O'Reilly, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Joshua Burnside, Baerd, Ciaran Lavery, Liv Greene, Paul Moody, Torri Weidinger, June Henry and Quinn Devlin. In 2024, she had the opening spot on Charlie Starr's (Blackberry Smoke) solo tour in January.
After touring extensively in 2023 and early 2024, Melanie is in the process of releasing a live to tape EP of her early work this April. Additionally she will release a new EP produced by Max Helgemo (to be released starting spring 2024) that incorporates a live band sound, adding a new energy that will diversify live shows without sacrificing any of her unique songwriting style and sound.
Melanie MacLaren’s natural aptitude for nuanced delivery, wistful guitar playing, and her ability to write about life as if life were simply writing itself is everything you could want from a modern folk musician.
Melanie’s music has been described as “if an acoustic Phoebe Bridgers had Dylan’s poetic magic" (The Wild is Calling). She has the unique artistic ability to combine a signature tongue-in-cheek sensibility with timeless folk style; her compositions feature classic finger-style guitar, distorted trad instruments, ambient beds and lyrics that have been described as “haunting yet humorous” and possessing a “sentimental cynicism” that “oozes with Gen-Z relatability.”
She released her stunning debut EP “Kill My Time” in 2022 independently to enthusiastic critical reception before gaining the attention of Tone Tree Distribution in Nashville. Within a few months of the release, she had signed with Tone Tree, landed several coveted playlist spots, and released a second EP of duets entitled "Tadpole Emporium" with established Dublin songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly which they toured together in the UK and Ireland.
Melanie released her second solo EP “Tourist” in April 2023. With tracks featured on multiple playlist placements across platforms (most notably Spotify Fresh Finds and Spotify’s Best of 2022 Fresh Folk Finds), garnering over 2.5 million streams across platforms.
Following the release, Melanie went on her first US headline tour with Northeast and Midwest runs, playing 25 shows. Melanie has shared bills with both established and rising folk artists like Lorkin O'Reilly, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Joshua Burnside, Baerd, Ciaran Lavery, Liv Greene, Paul Moody, Torri Weidinger, June Henry and Quinn Devlin. In 2024, she had the opening spot on Charlie Starr's (Blackberry Smoke) solo tour in January.
After touring extensively in 2023 and early 2024, Melanie is in the process of releasing a live to tape EP of her early work this April. Additionally she will release a new EP produced by Max Helgemo (to be released starting spring 2024) that incorporates a live band sound, adding a new energy that will diversify live shows without sacrificing any of her unique songwriting style and sound.
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