The Swedish sibling indie-pop duo, sixten has released their highly anticipated second EP, "Misemotional". After a long 8 year wait since their debut EP, "Chance Of Rain", "Misemotional" takes a nostalgic approach, inspired by 90's country and pop that touches on the topics of joy, sorrow, hope, and confusion.
TRACKLIST
Misemotional
Losing Game
Atlantic
Ocean In Me
Thrown Down
Living Comes With Dying
Sister and brother Tova and Sigge Strandell have banded together to create the musical duo, sixten. Together over the past 8 years they've been releasing music, starting with their debut EP In 2016, "Chance of Rain". In 2019, they took the indie-pop scene by storm with their breakthrough single "Slip" which amassed over 7 million streams on Spotify alone. Now holding onto several certified gold singles and having performed across all of Scandinavia, sixten is ready to go beyond the horizons and show the world what they've got. Finally after 8 long years since their first EP, sixten has released their sophomore EP "Misemotional" with TEN Records and in collaborations with some of Sweden's most highly awarded songwriters and producers (such as Johan Lindbrandt and Andreas Mattsson). Let's dive into this EP!
“When tragedy strikes or love hits you hard, many emotions can surge. Sometimes you’re unsure whether to allow yourself to feel intensely and express it or to tone yourself down and bottle up your emotions. The songs on the EP reflect both extremes – one moment, you’re almost burning up, and the next, you’re frozen.” -sixten
Misemotional
Starting out with the title track and the leading single, we have the song "Misemotional". Misemotional is not a word recognized by the English dictionary, but rather a term created within Scientology to describe someone whose emotions are irrational to whatever situation they're in. A misemotion is any sort of painful or unpleasant feeling. I think sixten's use of this word not only in their song but as the title of their EP was a creative move and brings a new curiosity to what it means to be "Misemotional". It's origin makes even more sense when you listen to how dreamy and ethereal the soundscape of this song is. Paired with a music video that matches it's retro aesthetic, "Misemotional" transports you back to the 80's with it's nostalgic, twinkling synths and heavy reverb. Not only that, but when you hear how gorgeous the vocals are too, it's like floating on a cloud. "Misemotional" is about exactly what the term means, when someone drives you just past your breaking point to where your emotions are all out of wack - but even though the lyrics are intense, the music itself is so gentle.
Losing Game
Next, we have "Losing Game", a gorgeous but heartbreaking country/folk inspired synth-pop song. "Losing Game" is about find out that the person you're in a relationship with isn't who you thought they were. There's a turning point where they start showing their true colors, and things turn cruel and violent. You try your best to fix things, but no matter what you do or how hard you try, they always make you feel like you're the problem. I love how this song mixes a classic, southern acoustic feel with an 80's twist in it's production style. It gave me a little bit of a Fleetwood Mac vibe, especially their song "Dreams" with the way this song flows and grooves. Tova and Sigge layer their vocals together both in unison and in harmony to create this beautifully emotional pathway to follow and listen to.
Atlantic
Track three is the focus track and most recent single off the EP, "Atlantic" which mixes 90's and 60's pop/rock styles with modern day music, and an instrumentation reminiscent of Harry Styles and lovely vocals reminiscent of Phoebe Bridgers. "Atlantic" is a deeply emotional song, exploring a complicated but relatable scenario. Have you ever been in love with someone who didn't love you back, and then they ended up being so far away that you'd probably never see them again? - And now, it's years later and you're still thinking about them like you were just in their arms yesterday. The pain of losing them is still fresh in your mind, and you can't bring yourself to get over them, even though they never loved you the same or deserved you in the first place. This is exactly what "Atlantic" is about, taking a poetic approach within the lyricism and bringing a heavy, passionate soundscape along for the ride.
Ocean In Me
Moving on to "Ocean In Me", this song has to do with dealing with pint up emotions and not knowing what to do with them. Sometimes when you're feeling too much all at once, it can be hard to figure out how to understand them, or to separate the emotions from each other. All you want to do is take a deep breath and let it all go, but you can't; it's just not that simple. "Ocean In Me" has a very classic country influenced soundscape with a gorgeous acoustic guitar picking pattern. It features orchestral strings and crashing drums as well as a little electric guitar interlude.
Thrown Down
Speaking of Fleetwood Mac, track five is a cover of the 2003 song "Thrown Down" off of the band's 17th studio album, "Say You Will". Self-written by Stevie Nicks, I think choosing "Thrown Down" as a track on this EP was an incredibly brilliant choice considering it's theme of complicated romantic feelings and emotions, which matches the vibe of "Misemotional" perfectly. "Thrown Down" is about rekindling an old flame that didn't end well, and treading lightly because you're not quite sure you can trust them again. I think sixten fits Fleetwood Mac's style so well and it makes even more sense now that I compared the two earlier as well. Compared to the original recording, sixten takes more of a gentle, hazy approach in their version of "Thrown Down", giving it even more of a sorrowful and downhearted tone.
Living Comes With Dying
Closing out the EP, we have a song that separates itself from the rest of the narrative in a very power way. "Living Comes With Dying" is a track that was inspired by a friend who's mother passed away from cancer. Tova and Sigge who were witnessing and taking in this friend's pain felt like they had to something - so they wrote a song.
"We felt we couldn't write about anything other than what our friends were going through... Other topics like love troubles, which we usually write about, became meaningless in comparison. ‘Living Comes With Dying’ is dedicated to those who have lost their dearest loved ones and serves as a reminder of the importance of continuing to support cancer research." - sixten
"Living Comes With Dying" speaks on how we don't really think about death until we lose someone close to us - then it becomes all we can think about. We start to think about what might happen to us, when it might happen, how it might happen... and it's a devastating thought process. We begin to realize how short life is, and that we should be spending as much time as possible with the ones we love. This song is tragically beautiful, filled with folky acoustic guitar, orchestral strings and very gentle stomping drum beat. Inspired by artists like The Police and Lana Del Rey, the song has both classic and modern twists within it's arrangement.
sixten's second EP has been a long time coming and they did not disappoint. "Misemotional" is conceptually such a great project and really shows the growth sixten has made together as a duo and as individual people. They've really solidified a perfect signature sound for themselves and there's not a single song on this EP that feels out of place or like it doesn't scream SIXTEN. Everything from the angelic vocals to the flawless production, from the nostalgic instrumentation styles to the emotionally poetic lyricism, "Misemotional" is a stunning collection of songs that deserve all the love and attention. If you're a sucker for highly emotional songs with addicting, catchy soundscapes, this is for you. If you liked "Misemotional", I suggest checking out the rest of sixten's impressive discography. Make sure to also follow them below to keep up with their journey!
Written By Kaitlyn Nicole
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