Alyssa Gengos - "Gothenburg English"

Photo by Morgan Hamilton

Alyssa Gengos' latest single may be considered bedroom pop, but it's on the more rocking side of that spectrum. "Gothenburg English" has some breathtaking melodies along with the catchiness of pure pop, but it also has some of the fuzziest guitars possible in the genre. While it does have that ultra-intimate and personal vibe with bedroom pop, it's produced wonderfully smoothly. This might be what the last couple of Taylor Swift albums could have sounded like if she had discovered Pavement instead of The National and Bleachers. It has a great dichotomy of the mainstream and the underground playing together happily that makes "Gothenburg English" familiar and unique.

Alyssa Gengos says of her new song:

"I began writing 'Gothenburg English' in my head while walking around the titular city near the end of my Scandinavian sojourn. Six months prior, I’d left a long term partner behind in New York City, hoping the relationship would survive. It did not. I finally accepted the end of it while wandering around Gothenburg and the Delsjö wilderness on the outskirts of the city. A friend told me the local accent is one of the most sing-songy in the Swedish language, and it’s audible when speaking English, too, creating a kind of 'Gothenburg English.' I think of this song as a road song in the sense of American road novels and movies. I sing about my travels during this time, and admit the realization that I came to once I returned home: I was ready to move on from the relationship that had brought me so much stress and misery."

You can watch the video for "Gothenburg English" below. Mechanical Sweetness is due out February 25 on Egghunt Records. For more on Alyssa Gengos, check out the artist's Facebook and Twitter.