Stockholm band four-piece Tella Viv debuted back in 2016 with the Coast 2 Coast EP, which showcased their ability to write big, shiny psychedelia-tinged pop songs. Things have been relatively quiet for the band since then, with them only putting out two single, Sworn and Resources, in the intervening two years. Recently however, they’ve gone through something of a reboot. With a line-up change (their membership is now founders Carl Hjelm Sandqvist and Benjamin Lavén and newbies Marcus and Fredric Lindblom) completed in 2017, they’re back with a new EP. From The Cradle To The Kitchen Sink is out on December 1st, and we’ve got the exclusive premiere for you right here.
So what does From The Cradle To The Kitchen Sink tell us about Tella Viv in 2017? Well that first thing that strikes about the record is that they’ve developed a tighter, sharper sound. The psych waves of Coast 2 Coast are in the past: from the opener Rotate, with its razorblade guitars, this is a fast, raw, aggressive EP. But they also show that they’re exploring new sounds. Synergy and Where Did My Heart Sleep are big, ambitious rock songs. Juvenile Crime is probably the song that harks back to Coast 2 Coast most clearly, a floating, dreamy song. That mix of styles shows that they probably haven’t quite decided exactly what they want their sound to be yet, but there’s more than enough quality on show here for us to want to follow them wherever they go next. We grabbed a few quick questions with the band about the EP. You can listen to From The Cradle To The Kitchen Sink below, exclusively on NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION.
It’s been quiet from Tella Viv for a while now. You’ve only released two singles since 2015’s Coast 2 Coast EP and you’ve changed up the membership. What’s been happening?
Benjamin: After the release of C2C we spent a lot of time focusing on playing live. Since then we’ve had some changes in membership, as you noted. Naturally this forced us to regroup. We decided not to come back before we felt we could do it better than ever. Now we’re back.
Tell us about the new EP. It sounds like a departure from you’ve done before, more directly rocky.
Marcus: I think the sound on this EP grew from spending more time playing together than before. We got better at writing as a group and finding the core of what we like with a song. At the same time the sound got more raw and the energy higher. It felt more like an accident than a deliberate decision, but it felt natural so we went with it.
Where did the title, From The Cradle To The Kitchen Sink come from?
Carl: It’s one of the lines from the EP’s first track, Rotate. Cradle refers to something juvenile and a bit mythological, whereas ”kitchen sink” is associated to adulthood and (Kitchen Sink) Realism.
You’ve said you’re already working on new music. What’s next?
Carl: We have the next EP done already, but want to try out the dimensions of a full length album. So we’re locking ourselves in the studio the days before Christmas to record all the good songs we did this year. We’re planning some collabs with our favourite Stockholm bands as well.