Throughout the bulk of this site’s 8 year history, I’ve written quite a bit about JOVM mainstay David Alexander, an internationally renowned Swedish-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, and as you know with his solo electro pop/dream pop recording project Summer Heart has received attention across the blogosphere for a sound that at points has been compared to Caribou, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others. Additionally, Alexander has been considered among the first wave of Sweden’s contemporary electro pop and dream pop movement along with the likes of Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.
With his 12 Songs ofSummer, Alexander adds his name to an increasing number of artists, who have adopted a single of the month series over the past couple of years, and as you can imagine doing so manages to make a helluva lot of sense creatively, financially, and marketing-wise in the blogosphere age. Creatively speaking, the artist isn’t constrained by having the pressure of writing material with a cohesive style or theme in mind, as they would if they were writing for an EP or a full-length album; however, in order for the concept to work, they are required to come up with material within relatively strict and regularly occurring deadlines. Financially, independent artists, who may be struggling to find ways to fund their efforts to record and tour, can put out material quickly — and in the blogosphere age, it can ensure that the artist can receive some sort of attention over the course of year, outside of the album cycle. As Alexander explained in press notes, “The idea behind this project is to show people what I am currently working on instead of what I was doing two years ago, which can be the case when you release an album. It’s definitely a way of challenging myself, thinking less and having more fun creating music!”
“Aftershock,” the latest single in the 12 Songs of Summer project is a swaggering and flirty single centered around Alexander’s falsetto which for this song takes on a smooth jazz-like quality paired with shuffling drum programming and twinkling synths to create a song that evokes silk sheets on naked skin, of making love on an early summer morning with the windows open to let in a soft breeze. Arguably, it’s one of Alexander’s sultriest songs to date.