WATERBABY - Memory Be A Blade

Strings, horns, a dulcimer and a flute: these are the elements framing the fine pop-soul compositions of Stockholm artist Kendra Egerbladh, aka Waterbaby, who arrives at her debut for Sub Pop after three years of songs shared online.

“Memory Be A Blade” is a deeply nostalgic record, twenty-six minutes of intense, aching bedroom-pop ballads that pair r&b lushness with a singer-songwriter delicacy tinged with chamber-folk.

It's a fairly ambitious first step, this debut LP from Waterbaby, spread across eight tracks that alternate between a strong, pop-soul rhythmic hook driven in sync by drums and piano (the single "Beck N Call") and melodies with a shifting, fluctuating flow ("Amiss"), while at its heart stand unusual gospel-soul-inflected orchestral passages built on a continuous flow of strings ("Minnie"), which find release in an intense, spiritual a cappella melody not without jazz echoes ("Minnie Too").

Waterbaby is a singer-songwriter of undeniable talent. The Swedish artist moves with agility through the same creative territory as Nilüfer Yanya, with strong personality and enough originality of her own.

It's no easy feat to move from the ethereal, almost improbably improvised textures of "Sink" to the driving, chamber-pop-tinged R&B of the title track while preserving both style and authenticity, just as it's no small thing to bring the curtain down swiftly with a harsh, once again orchestral, soul-leaning composition featuring an evocative horn section and minimal piano chords ("Srs Ice").

Waterbaby's debut is without doubt one of this year's finest revelations, and at this point it's worth going back to the previous mini-EP "Foam", released in 2023, starting with the duet with her brother Ttoh on "Born Too Late".

Contemporary pop music has a brilliant new voice, and it comes from Stockholm.

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22/04/2026