Heart-Sick Groans - If The Canary Stops Singing

When I tweeted Heart-Sick Groans that I couldn’t wait to hear their new single, I didn’t think they’d take me literally. The song, like magic, found its way into my inbox within the next ten minutes. It was almost as if they were legitimately worried they’d be held liable, were I to have died from a startling and outright debilitating case of impatience.

This is why I love Heart-Sick Groans. Despite their bragging rights as “one of indie-pop’s best kept secrets”, they still take time to cater to their fans. This is why you should become a fan, so they can cater to you! I promise it’ll be worth it. If you don’t believe me, take a listen above to the Swedish indie-pop trio’s latest offering “If The Canary Stops Singing”. Here’s what they had to say about the tune:

“This song’s been in the song machine for a long time, the lads started working on it in the fall of 2009, then the boys scrapped it for a bit, then the men had Marcus Brännström come in to add some guitars to the chorus, then the gang realized this too’s A SMASH HIT WONDER with epic overtones and heart-tearing undertones. Now it is also in your ears!”

Epic overtones! Heart-tearing undertones! Let me translate for you, in case you don’t understand the language of AWESOME. “If The Canary Stop Singing” is the best song of 2012, and Heart-Sick Groans is your new favorite band. I’m glad I could clear that up for you.

Click through (or look below) to watch the brilliant video for “A Bossanova With This Cassanova”. Like what you hear? You can also download one of my fave tracks “With Samantha At The Carwash” here.
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Swiftumz - More Than Sleep
Swiftumz - 4EVA

A month ago, our neighbors invited us over to decorate cookies. This is the type of invitation you can’t turn down during the holiday season. It should go on the record, however, that I never once considered turning down said invitation. Our neighbors are quite lovely people, and… Well, tastiness! Gingerbread all UP in my face. You know the drill.

As the story goes, a few last-minute errands resulted in my frantic (yet fashionably) late arrival. I stumbled over to their doorway thinking I was the most terrible person in the world, only to realize that I was earlier than nearly every other guest. Audible sigh of relief, I uttered!

The early arrival actually turned out to be a good thing, in multiple respects. For starters, I got first crack at the snack table. There were less people to introduce myself to. More bonding time with my neighbors… But, perhaps most importantly, I was able to discover my poor frosting skills before the true artistes arrived.

For real, guys! Decorating cookies is serious business. There was a woman who pimped out her gingerbread-lady in a pair rainbow panties, inspired by Rihanna‘s wardrobe on the Loud tour. I tried to pretend I was as cool as her by creating a Robyn-inspired cookie. Long story short, It wound up having unintentionally inappropriate nipples. I was not as cool as her.

It wasn’t until I made one particular cookie (who we’ll refer to as “Sad Sadie“) that I truly felt accomplished. Though she wore a brightly colored outfit, her sugary lips were (accidentally) turned down into a frown. She was miserable. And I loved her.

Sad Sadie became the companion piece for “Optimistic Girl“, a character developed by my neighbor. The concept was pretty simple. As response to anything remotely negative, Optimistic Girl would respond in her trademark high-pitched voice, letting you know that everything will be okay.

At this time in the post, you’re probably wondering—what does any of this have to do with Swiftumz? Rest assured, the answer is coming soon!

You see, “More Than Sleep” is the Sad Sadie of breakup jams. The narrator’s so ridden with self-deprecation and longing that he’s resorted to saying things like “I love her even more than I hate myself”. It’s kind of pathetic.

That is, until we get to “4EVA”, on which the Optimistic Girl inside our narrator’s brain unleashes her opinion on this matter. “Sure, there were bad times,” she says. “But why don’t you focus on the good times! The fun times! You’ll always have those, and nobody can take them away from you!”

In the context of Swiftumz’s debut album Don’t Trip, these two songs balance one another out to some point of, dare I say, sanity. It’s a magical pairing. Magical, I tell you!