Smerz, the Copenhagen/Oslo-based duo of Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt, have a new LP on the way. It's called Big city life, and it's dropping via Escho, the home of esteemed releases from the likes of Astrid Sonne, Molina, and Elias Rønnenfelt. Per Smerz, "Some of the songs are pieces of advice to ourselves. Some are doorways into dreams. Some songs are secret wishes. Some are written for someone who is not here. And some are predictions."
They previewed the album last month with lead single "A thousand lies," a waking dream that drifts through the same liminal space as peers like Sonne and ML Buch. Today, along with the proper announcement, comes an even better track called "You got time and I got money." It's zonked but graceful, with the amateur intimacy of twee and a string section that reminds me of "Bitter Sweet Symphony." According to Stoltenberg, "I wrote the lyrics when I got my first real grown-up job and was in love at the same time."
Smerz made the video with Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø, and you can find it below along with the one for "A thousand lies."
TRACKLIST:
01 "Big city life"
02 "But I do"
03 "Roll the dice"
04 "What"
05 "Feisty"
06 "A thousand lies"
07 "Close"
08 "You got time and I got money"
09 "Big dreams"
10 "Street style"
11 "Imagine this"
12 "Dreams"
13" Easy"
Big city life is out 5/23 on Escho. Pre-order it here.
