Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
If you’ve been feeling the winter blahs already, a little dose of spring can be found in the latest from Stockholm-based artist Waterbaby.
“Beck n Call” follows the release of another new single earlier this year, “Amiss,” — both of which mark her first fresh music since acclaimed 2023 debut EP, Foam. That record is what first earned Kendra Egerbladh’s bedroom-pop project acclaim, including two 2024 Swedish Grammy Nominations for Newcomer of the Year and Composer of the Year (which show that the best may be yet to come).
“Beck n Call” features guest rapper ttoh, who adds extra punch and underlines that smitten springtime feel. “An angel asked who I wanna be / I said, "The me with you version of me" / Heart on lock and she got the key.” The light-as-a-breeze instrumentation and tempo are coaxed along by Waterbaby‘s regular collaborator Marcus White, who also produced and mixed the song. It’s a playfully percussive, piano-laden, soulful indie-pop gem.
The single is out via Sub Pop now, and you can catch it in the playlist for this episode, which is available for your ears via the player at the top of the page.
Best new indie music this week
- Waterbaby, “Beck n Call”
- The Nunnery, “Peaches”
- Dina Ögon, “Margaretas sang,”
- Khruangbin, “White Gloves ii”
- Stella Donnelly, “Laying Low”
- Juana Molina, “siestas ahí”
- José González, “Pajarito”
- Elanor Moss, “Again, My Love”
- Constant Smiles, “Everything Is Personal”
- Tristen, “Skin of Our Teeth”
- Gorillaz, “The God of Lying (ft. IDLES)”
- SPELLING, “Destiny Arrives (ft. Weyes Blood)”
