Green Suburban reflects on life, happiness, and society with debut EP ‘I’

'I’ is the debut EP from Green Suburban, the musical project of Swedish musician Isak Skoglund. The four-track long EP takes listeners on a journey of reflection and self-discovery to a backdrop of technical guitar work and groovy drums.

Skoglund kicks off the EP with ‘The Desert Song’, with powerful guitar and existential lyrics to accompany it. He begins singing “have I lost my way?/Is my purpose gone?”, weighing up his purpose in the world. This escalates into asking for help, “I’m getting tired of waiting/give me a sign”. Although the lyrics repeat themselves twice, the song doesn’t feel painfully repetitive. In fact, it aids the sense of questioning one’s purpose and feeling lost. 

The long guitar outro leaves the listener with time to think and debate their own place in the world. The repetition of “hold on tight/it’ll be alright” quietly under the guitar and heavy drums fully capture the listener and takes them to a different world before the tune fades, and ‘Misinformation’ begins.

Similar to ‘The Desert Song’, catchy guitar leads listeners into ‘Misinformation’ before Skoglund sings over a more laid-back tune that anyone would catch themselves swaying along to. This track shows off Green Suburban's vocal range and excellent control whilst continuing the themes of the first song. He discusses the lack of trust in the world at the moment and where that leaves us, singing “can’t trust no papers/can’t trust what’s on tv”. A theme of this EP becomes apparent, as he knows how to skillfully write lyrics that listeners can’t help but ponder over, as he ends the song with “you better back up what you’re saying/if you can’t well don’t say nothing at all”.

‘Lazy Days’ was released earlier in 2021 as the lead single from this EP but sits at track 3 on ‘I’. Its powerful lyrics drive home some of the messages of this EP and further evaluates purpose and drive in life. Despite the laid-back vibe of the track which mirrors the title, lyrics such as “I’m tired of living like I’m not alive” remind the listener that they’re not alone if they feel they’re living a series of repetitive ‘lazy days’.

The final track ‘Tuesday Blues’ takes a slightly different lyrical direction as it tells a story of a blind man searching for happiness, as Skoglund narrates, “could you please help a blind man find his way back/to the happiness I once had”. The distorted heavy guitar starts the track with attitude and compliments the groovy bassline throughout. Around 2 minutes in, the lead guitar steps up and provides an impressive solo drowned in classic rock effects to take listeners through to the end of the EP.  

Green Suburban’s debut EP effectively shows off both Skoglund’s instrumental and vocal talent, with vocals sometimes taking a backseat for the guitar to shine, and other times the vocals venturing into unique sounds. The blend of diverse vocals and interesting guitar creates an extremely fresh sound that will be exciting to see Green Suburban develop in the future.

Robyn Hill

@robyynnhill

Image: Benjamin Hailu

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