One year after he released his first ever songs, Swedish songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Tobias Arbo is getting ready for the next chapter in his career. His upcoming single 'Recover' chimes in a new episode and teases his debut album coming later this year.
While his debut EP POWERLINES, released in March 2023, pondered on the topic of forgiveness to oneself and had Tobias Arbo grapple with the question why he out of all people may deserve to put out music (a nonsensical notion a lot of artists can relate to), this first body of work helped him approach his art more candidly. "I guess it’s part of living, it helped me and it had a lot to do with me and my relationship to music." POWERLINES earned him features in Americana (UK), SVT (Sweden's National TV), GAFFA (Scandinavia's leading entertainment print magazine), Bands of Tomorrow (DK), Nöjesguiden (SE) and more, evoking comparisons to the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver or fellow Swede José González. CLASH found the EP was "blending folk aspects with pop tropes", where "each song feels shot through with light."
New single 'Recover', a glistening piece of folk pop, takes the listeners by the hand and leads them away from the sentiment of the EP, carefully building a bridge towards what's to come. "The song is narrated from an 'angel on the shoulder' perspective, encouraging you to break free from the invisible chains of self-criticism that we construct over time, and redefine our negative relationship patterns with ourself," Tobias Arbo sums up the meaning behind his new song. He himself felt like he had been chosing safety and refusing change for far too long, out of fear of doing something wrong of not living up to his own made up expectations. "Shame and guilt doesn’t amount to self improvement. It’s rather about rediscovering a path back to feeling worthy of playfulness and joy."
Sonically, 'Recover' illustrates its message with flowing guitars, sparse piano glimmers and minimal percussion. Tobias Arbo's soft voice spans like the water's surface tension until it finally breaks through with the chorus and an intent falsetto. To be in full control of his artistic vision, Tobias Arbo produced the track together with Linus and Hannes Hasselberg (Plasí, Moonica Mac, Melissa Horn, Cleo), and got it mixed by Zach Hanson (Bon Iver, Owen, Sylvan Esso, Waxahatchee). Artwork and press pictures were created by photographer Olof Grind (Phoebe Bridgers, boygenius, First Aid Kit, Veronica Maggio).