On March 6, the debut album by waterbaby will be released, the Swedish artist (not to be confused with the London duo of the same name) who became known in 2022 thanks to her collaboration on Hannes’ catchy viral hit, ‘Stockholmsvy’, now included in her 2026 debut, ‘God Bless Sweden’, adding more than 90 million views on Spotify. Despite its virality, we are talking about a composition closer to chamber pop, bedroom pop and folk, only endowed with an extraordinary pop appeal and musicality, which confirms that this music comes from Sweden.
Strings are a crucial element in waterbaby’s music as well, as demonstrated by their short but rich repertoire. In particular, songs like ‘Memory Be a Blade’, ‘Amiss’ or ‘Beck n Call’ use very prominent instrumental hooks, while the arrangements themselves sound very original. That curiosity seems to come naturally to Kendra Egerbladh, since, in her old song ‘911’, the artist raised in Stockholm used her own voice as an instrumental hook imitating the siren of an ambulance. The effect was adorable and a little emotional, too.
Egerbladh’s talent could be inherited, as his grandfather was a jazz pianist and his uncle a concert promoter. Kendra took her first steps in music collaborating with the also Swedish Seinabo Sey, also being her official makeup artist and hairstylist. Her “breakthrough” came thanks to her two duets with Hannes, ‘Stockholmsvy’ and the also great ‘Wish’, and the release of her official debut should definitely make her known to the general public.
The smug piano melody of ‘Beck n Call’ makes this song one of waterbaby’s standout singles and this Monday’s Song of the Day. We could talk about the attractive R&B of her voice, in a soft line closer to Natalie Prass, but if we put that together with the melodic waste present in the vocal and instrumental melody, we actually find a song that the best Dirty Projectors could have written in their most orchestral and pop stage.
‘Beck n Call’ is a song about romantically longing for someone, to the point that waterbaby feels “bewitched” by that person after having given them the “key to her heart.” Romantic and existential metaphors abound in their discography, also in ‘Memory Be a Blade’, their most recent single, where the ability to remember – nostalgia – is transformed into a “dagger” that sticks deep inside. Here, cello and percussion collaborate to create a composition that once again sounds unique.
