Jag sov med hjärtat i bandage och du sov någon annanstans

I heard my first Christmas song of the season on the radio last Saturday. It must officially be that time of year again...which means a new set of popstar Christmas songs. That's good news for Paul of Fizzy Pop and just maybe good news for the rest of us, too, at least when they're as enjoyable as "I Don't Believe In Angels," the new single from Melody Club.



A duet featuring guest vocals from Anna Järvinen, "I Don't Believe In" has an organic band sound to it, but a gentle, strummy one. It's also, surprisingly, sweetly uplifting. I love the combination of Kristofer and Anna's voices together; I hadn't heard Anna's work before, but apparently she was part of the group Granada and has had a solo career for the past few years.

In a similar vein of grown-up Swedish pop is Mathias Holmgren's latest single, "Tänk om jag dör nu inatt," though it's not technically Christmas-themed.



My usual attitude is wishing Mathias, a Fame Factory contestant who spent some time as the lead singer of Barbaods after Magnus Carlsson's departure before also going solo himself, would return to schlager. He began his solo career with Melodifestival entry "Långt bortom tid och rum," pure schlager, and his first solo album, Vägen hem, was very much in that style. After that, though, he moved to a more singer-songwriter sound. "Tänk om jag dör nu inatt" isn't actually too far removed from that style, but it's done really, really well, the sort of song that sweeps you along for its rises and falls. From what I understand of the lyrics, they only further my belief that the right word for "Tänk om jag dör nu inatt" is "lovely," albeit sadly lovely. The title means "What If I Die Tonight," and the song stands as an attempt to apologize and win back a lover after a fight. What makes it even better is that the song is written by Johan Thorsell, Mathias's husband; the song stands on its own, but that extra bit of emotional context makes it even more powerful and poignant.

You can buy Melody Club and Anna Järvinen's single "I Don't Believe In Angels" here (digital) and Mathias Holmgren's single "Tänk om jag dör nu inatt" here (digital). Mathias releases an album of the same title November 18.

Jag fattar inte hur det blev så här

Swedish singer Mathias Holmgren was a competitor on Fame Factory during the same season as Jessica Andersson and Magnus Bäcklund. He also went on to replace Magnus Carlsson as the lead singer of Barbados before getting kicked out (I think; I'm not sure what happened). He's been to Melodifestivalen a couple of times, once with Barbados and once as a solo singer (where he made it to the second chance round but no further with "Långt bortom tid och rum," which was co-written by Thomas G:son). Since then, he's released one solo album, Vägen hem, and he's working on his next album, but if I'm understanding this article correctly, it won't be anything like the first, which is sort of a shame (though I'll hold out final judgement until I've heard his new material)--Vägen hem is full of fun light pop. I've posted one of his songs, his cover of Gareth Gates's "Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)," before; today's, though, is an original (as far as I know).

Tidsmaskin--I keep expecting "Tidsmaskin" to turn into some other song--maybe "Anyone of Us" or Westlife's "Amazing" (which is predates)? This isn't one of the faster songs on the album, and it's probably a ballad, but it's not exactly slow, especially in the chorus. It's pretty but also pretty catchy, though not in an in-your-face manner.

To buy Mathias Holmgren's album Vägen hem, go here (physical). If you like this style of music, I recommend it--it won't blow your mind, but there's a lot to enjoy on it.

Next up: possibly the winner of Melodifestivalen the year Mathias competed in it, or that German band.