An Acoustic Pop Single from Nordly
- BuzzSlayers
- May 22
- 3 min read
Nordly return with a new single that does an amazing job of speaking volumes for how the duo can create a bit of a spacious atmosphere while still giving off this roots folk style feel and aesthetic, and it's done by layering emotion with warm tonality that feels honest, but distant at the same time.
So, to pick that apart a little deeper, some of the distant elements come from the reverb effect on the guitars, especially one slide guitar that is sort of laced through the song, giving it a bit more of that beautiful depth, but also adding a certain element of elegance to the track as well.
This is a bit dreamy but also a bit graceful. Everything about it has a wonderful set of layers.
The main guitars feel acoustic, and there is live percussion involved, which, in combination, has a way of putting you there in the moment with the song.
One of the more beautiful aspects about this track, though, is the vocals. Normally is a male and female duo consisting of AnnaMia Lindblom and Frederick Breith-Mortensen.
The way that they perform on this track is outstanding because they sing simultaneously and perform octaves of the same melody. Frederick is performing the deeper octave, and AnnaMia is performing the higher.
Because they do this, it adds thickness to the melodies and a lushness to the song itself that just feels impactful.
This approach really lets you pay more attention to the lyrics themselves, and the song comes through with so much more strength, even though they're both singing in a delicate or subtle manner, so that it's soft.
The melodies really stick with you. Because they're doing the octave notes with each other during their performance, it does help build some of the spacious underbelly the song delivers as a whole.
You can definitely hear a lot of different influences coming through while listening to this track. I come here with 90s singer-songwriter and even indie rock style influences, along with folk, pop, and more. It's pretty outstanding how the duo is able to roll all of that up so seamlessly and deliver something that's got its own aesthetic.
That slide guitar really does add a particular kind of element to the track. The texture of it can be smooth and flowing, but at other times, especially towards the end of the track, they get way more intense and add a bit more excitement and electric energy to the track as well.
Now, when you listen to this track, you can tell it works naturally. Even if there was no percussion involved, it would still have a very similar kind of flow. However, the drumming does add a little bit of push to the rhythm of everything, and that helps the song hit in a different way.
This was obviously thought up by producer Petter Nygardh, who not only worked with them directly on producing this track, but also actually played the drums on it as well.
This is obviously a smart move, and you can plainly hear that everyone involved was really on the same page.
The song is called "Afterwaves", and lyrically it focuses a bit on your childhood and how growing up in a certain way affects who you become as an adult.
But it's not just about who you become, it's how you feel. There are certain aspects about growing up that we can still think about and feel tension from.
This song feels like it's almost like a complete circle. It's about coming to grips with your childhood and how things are just different now.
Of course, this is how I interpreted the song. Others may take it in a little differently.
If you pay attention to those lyrics, it certainly dips into how your childhood affects you later on in life. It's different for everyone, but the level of how your childhood unfolded definitely takes a heavy-handed place in shaping you as an older person.
This whole thing has an absolutely gorgeous flow to it and really invites you along to swim through its soundscape.
Check this track out now, and while you're at it, you should certainly check out last year's "Punctured Balloon".
Remember where you heard this first.
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