He had a dream in which the melody was revealed to him. That's important because you can feel it. That's a quality that very few songs have. It seems to have come from another place. Not written but remembered. This song is kind of a personal song. It's not a performance, it's like someone is slowly revealing a thought that they've been keeping in their head for a long time.
Alien Friend is the name of the guy who created this project, and he was playing the guitar and singing with a Swedish band called Redmoon for years before he decided to go solo. But what he has created since then is truly personal. A body of work that bridges the gap between power pop, americana and now, with this album, into Swedish folk music. The Sparrow is in the middle of it all. Uncertain, beautiful and somewhat disturbing.
This song is about a sparrow struggling to survive. However, it gradually reveals itself that the bird and the narrator may be the same. That transition is done in a very sensitive manner. There is no explicit statement. It's left to you to sit with it.
The instrumentation is wonderful. The steady organic rhythm from drummer Andreas Quincy Dahlbäck keeps the whole thing grounded and alive, while church bells, mellotron and warm guitar tones add to the atmosphere. Stefan Petersson's high-pitched vocals in the hook are truly arresting. A voice that is tender yet urgent.
The beauty of this project is the honesty. The lyrics are poetic but not precious. The production is layered but never over-layered. It's music from a person who cares about what they're doing and that care is evident in every listen. The Sparrow is one of those songs that the more you listen to it, the better it becomes. Wait it out, it doesn't go away with a bang, it goes away with a whimper, like a thought that keeps coming back to you but you don't always know why.
