Dreaming Wild - “Judy”
Photo by Sara Almgren
Swedish duo Kajsa Bergsten and Daniel Berglund, aka Dreaming Wild, have a sound that will completely enthrall fans of Sharon Van Etten and Soccer Mommy. If you don’t believe us, then you really need to press play on their freshly released single, “Judy.”
We knew that we were in for a sonic treat when we read the duo’s bio. Containing phrases like “music is the ability to build a world within the world” and a “self-sufficient cosmos where even the deeply personal somehow turns into something relatable,” we were fully aware that we were going to love “Judy.” And we do.
The song begins with some lo-fi bass and drums, building a wall of sound that very soon becomes the driving force of the arrangement. Bergsten takes the helm on the vocals, hitting all of the right notes with a tone that is warm and slightly over-driven, precisely the way we had hoped them to be. They’ve been double-tracked in all of their glory, which always seems to win us over.
Some synth appears in the distance, filling in the gaps with a dreamlike, ambient energy. On the hook, a vocal harmony gently widens the lyrical delivery, likely piquing the interest of all who hear. For all the grit on the bass guitar, this song is actually quite gentle and a magnificent way to pay homage to the character being described within the lyrics.
Gentle or no, “Judy” is a paragon of gritty indie rock tunes. The arrangement remains raw and sparse for its duration, and appears to have been captured via analogue equipment, as evidenced in its warmth and thickness. We hope that Dreaming Wild make a few more tunes in this manner so that we can feature all of them here.
-HD