Eera

About

" Coming-of-age indie mixed with mesmerizing dream pop "

‘Speak’, the title of EERA’s second record, is very apt – blunt, honest, confident. You could construe it as a command too, to be more open, braver. All of this is deliberate. “Speak is a search for balance in life, acknowledging myself and being proud of who I am,” says the Berlin-based Norwegian, real name Anna Lena Bruland. “My debut was a little bit timid – this album is more who I am.” It’s also a bold, self-assured listen, a heady mix of shoegaze, grungy guitars, swirling synths, and grand production.

But then, EERA has always followed her own defiant path. The granddaughter of one of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra’s most renowned conductors, she ignored his advice that music was “too hard”; “I had to be a musician,” she’s said. “There’s nothing else I could do.” First, she moved to the UK, playing in other bands and writing her debut record ‘Reflection Of Youth’, an album informed by her love of Deerhoof, PJ Harvey, Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley. Then came a move to Berlin, and a deeper, darker sonic palette – My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Broadcast, Depeche Mode.

Such influences are to the fore on her new record – “a document of luxurious darkness,” said one particularly rapt review. There’s soaring fuzz, classic rock, and motorik beats driving her music, which scans as a cross between coming-of-age indie and mesmerizing dream pop. It conveys a sense of possibility being realized too, talent and creativity finding their groove and pushing against limits. EERA does indeed want to speak – and we should listen.

Photo : Tobias Humble