I spend a good part of my life listening to new music, and every now and then I notice how many songs mistake intensity for importance. “Getting Through” walks in the opposite direction. It never raises its voice to make its point, and perhaps that’s exactly why I listened all the way through without feeling the need to skip ahead. It felt like spending four minutes with someone who had decided that listening mattered more than shouting.
The groove deserves a lot of credit for that feeling. It never asks to become the centre of attention; instead it keeps everything moving with an effortless pulse that lets Bjorn‘s voice settle naturally into the song. Around it, hints of 90s pop, gentle folk colours and restrained electronic textures pass by without anyone fighting for the spotlight. Every choice seems made in service of the song rather than in service of showing off.
Reading Bjorn’s notes afterwards made perfect sense of what I had just heard. He wrote this for young people trying to cope with their mental health in a world that often feels disconnected from itself. I like that he didn’t translate that idea into darkness. Quite the opposite. The music keeps searching for light without pretending life is easy, and I think that’s a much more generous way of writing about difficult subjects. Comfort doesn’t have to arrive wrapped in sadness.
About Bjorn:
For anyone unfamiliar with Bjorn, this isn’t the work of someone chasing a fresh identity. After years producing artists, recording with Pennebaker and Ljusår, and performing with Swedish indie favourites Popsicle, he understands how to let a song carry its own emotional weight. “Getting Through” feels like another chapter in that long relationship with songwriting, and if this single points towards what his fourth solo album has in store, I’m looking forward to hearing where he goes next.
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