The Hag is based on a story that never goes away, and it sounds like it's been sitting with someone for years before they finally put it to music: Arn-Identified Flying Objects and Alien Friend. This is not a quick sketch, but a thought-out piece of work, patiently and carefully shaped. You can hear that sense of time in the way everything unfolds, never rushing to reach its destination.
The music is based on lyrics by the Swedish writer Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, but not merely translated into English. In the middle is a mother burned on a mountain, her bones left behind long after the flames have gone out. Even without knowing the full history, the weight of that image settles in and refuses to leave.
Alien Friend also adds a harder edge, suggesting that the mother had something she kept close and secret, and adding a touch of personal feeling to the accusation. Her kids are forced to stand and watch, while comfort goes on without a care a whisker away, and it hurts to hear every time. That contrast gives the story even more weight without pushing it too far.
Guitars play with a bright and sunny edge, and keys resonate beneath in slow waves. Layered voices lift the track skywards before quiet strumming opens things up. It's driven by the sharp and punchy drumming of Andreas Quincy Dahlbäck and the fierce climbing guitar solos of Daniel Lagerlöf. The music keeps moving between lighter and darker moments, which fits the story surprisingly well.
Alien Friend's voice is worn and weathered, a fitting style for an old-world story, and reminiscent of classic radio voices, but never a caricature. Everything is wrapped in a shadowed, distant mood, and it stays with you long after the last note. It's the kind of song that quietly lingers in your thoughts, making you want to return and hear it again from a different angle.
