Yes, it’s another story of a band changing their name, but for once it’s not because they got sued. Malmö jazz school escapees, now roaming free-range in the indie world, Kluster, have added a B to their name, thus becoming Kluster B. The band say however that it’s because after a period of internal stress and troubles, they needed a new name to mark a new beginning, and so here we are. Kluster’s debut album Civic came out in 2018, and Kluster B’s debut album is set for release later this year. And we’ve got the first single to emerge from that album for you, Counterpart, here today.
Starting off, the song sounds like classic Kluster (B), with guitar arrangements as intricate as complex Lego sculptures giving the song a restless, clockwork groove. Linnea Hall’s searching vocals and lyrics set the mood as tense, which the coiled-up energy of the guitars complements, but they wrap it up with a hazy, dreamy outro that echoes early Warpaint a little. It’s an interesting song, one that opens up a lot of questions about the ways their album might take them. It’s now up to that record to answer them. Listen below and check out a short interview with the folks right here.
Since we last met you you’ve added a B to your name, how come? You mentioned ‘internal turbulence’.
Yes, we’ve been through different stuff, both individually and as a group, partly because we’ve been living in different cities and countries. This kind of blew up in our faces, just as we were going into the studio, so we more or less decided that this suffix ‘B’ would be a suitable way to highlight our new beginning, or chapter B, as a band. Kluster B can of course be interpreted in many ways. For instance, it’s also the name of a group of psychological disorders, and since we freaked out a bit, we gave ourselves this nickname with some humour.
You put out Wild as a standalone single last year, but Counterpart is the first single from your upcoming second album. Does it give us a good indicator of the sound of the new album?
Counterpart will give you a good hint of the sound that runs through the whole album, which we basically found together during the recording and mixing. Song-wise the album is quite diverse and Counterpart is on the more funky section of the album. We wanted to do something different from the last album, something more undefined and uncontrolled, but had no idea what the result would sound like. We hope the listeners will be as surprised as we were!
Counterpart is an interesting title for a song, and interesting way to think about your relationship to another person. What would you say is the story of the song?
It’s a song that asks for humility or forgiveness from the other, and springs from a desire to be accepted in one’s own human failings or flaws. Somehow it’s an attempt to put words on things that cannot easily be put into words, which sometimes seem to be easier to do during a walk, where both parts move in the same direction – or in a room filled with soft pillows. The story can be endless.
The airy, dreamy outro on the song is a little reminiscent of the interlude tracks on the first album like Get Along and Tiramisu. Is that style of writing a distinct part of your sound? Do you enjoy creating those sections?
These episodes kind of turn up by themselves when we’re playing together. It’s not really something we have decided to put in this or that song as a conceptual thing. But they have this element of freedom that we all enjoy experimenting with together.
Finally, if you had to change your name again, what would you all go for?
Linnea Hall – Cluster B
Pontus Örnstrand – Firepony
Andreas Pollak – Gold Repeat
Sebastian Hegedüs – Ab’dendriel
Adam Jonsson – Pollak And His Evil Friendly Gnomes
Counterpart is out on January 22 on Rama Lama Records.