Kleerup - "On My Own Again"

Yes. That's right. Another song from Sweden. Is that really such a bad thing? Would you prefer breathless coverage of the Creed reunion tour? That's what I thought. Admittedly, I've been meaning to talk about this song for nearly two weeks, and after yesterday's Lake Heartbeat shout-out, I figured today was as good a day as any to mention this perfect slice of electro-pop from Sweden's Andreas Kleerup, "On My Own Again". Plus, it's Friday, and, as a far as I'm concerned, it's not the freakin' weekend until you've heard at least one song prominently featuring a synthesizer.

Kleerup is a pretty big deal in the world of producers. For example, he was the mind behind Robyn's unlikely #1 UK hit, the unconventional, shimmering "With Every Heartbeat". Unfortunately, his much-anticipated, self-titled debut is a workmanlike, but mostly unexceptional collection of songs you've heard a million times before ("With Every Heartbeat" and "Until We Bleed" - They still sound great, btw), instrumentals (most notably "Thank You For Nothing" originally written for Cyndi Lauper's 2008 release Bring Ya To the Brink ("Lay Me Down") - She refused to license her version for inclusion on Kleerup), club-ready (at least in Europe) tunes featuring guest vocalists and the occasional vocal turn from Mr. Kleerup himself.

"On My Own Again" is one of the few songs Kleerup sings, and it is arguably the best moment on the album. At the very least, it's the most surprising. It doesn't really sound like anything else here (perhaps unsurprisingly, most of these tracks have a nocturnal, dance vibe). In fact, I'm a little surprised more people aren't talking about this song.

Over a ringing, repetitive synth pattern, flanged drums and acoustic guitars, Kleerup locks a deft, vocodered flow that is easily one of the most beautifully understated melodies of the year. There's even a guitar solo that's vaguely reminiscent of the solo from Daft Punk's "Digital Love" (never a bad thing). I really don't have any idea what this song is about (I believe it's a break-up song - thus the title), but "On My Own Again" is another profound example of the Swedes' considerable facility with the pop form. A great many of the past decade's best pop songs have been written by Swedish writers/producers, most notably Max Martin ("Since U Been Gone", Pink's "So What", "Hot N Cold") and Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg aka Bloodshy & Avant ("Toxic", "Piece of Me"), and, in a more perfect world, "On My Own Again" would command similar attention from American Top 40 radio. At any rate, it is a stellar, wholly serendipitous moment synth-driven pop tucked deep on an album that I really wish was better.

Listen here (via Popjustice). Hear more Kleerup here (via Rcrdlbl).