Sarah Klang Teases Mercedes With Halloween Costume

by | Aug 7, 2023

Sarah Klang has announced that her new album Mercedes will be dropping on 20th October via Nettwerk. Klang has enjoyed plenty of success in her career to date, with three Top 5 albums in her homeland of Sweden, as well as winning the Swedish Grammy for Best Album twice. Yet none of that could prepare her for an entirely different journey. Leaving her twenties behind and becoming a mother with her first child, whom the album is named for, became the catalyst for a new cycle of songs all grounded in personal, but also general shared human experiences. Sarah delivers these songs with the steam-of-conscious storytelling style that has endeared her to so many, but now with more candour.

Sarah Klang

Sarah Klang (Fredrika Eriksson)
Sarah Klang (Fredrika Eriksson)

Making music is how Klang has always processed changes in her life – like moving to the country and changing schools as a young girl. The experience had a profound impact on her life, not least because of how tough her school was – a place where bullying was rife. Being an expectant mother took her squarely back to that period, recalling what she experienced in vivid detail after years of suppressing the memories. Nowhere is this more apparent than on her emotive new single Halloween Costume, which deals with themes of teenage bullying and mental health musically wrapped in bright americana-pop warmth.

Check out the official lyric video for Halloween Costume below:

“I had trauma and PTSD from my teenage years – something I didn’t realise for many years,” Klang explains. “After therapy, I remembered that I genuinely thought I would go mad during that time in my adolescence. I had definitely blocked it all out, but after therapy, I started to process it all in a way I had never done previously. At the time of it happening when I was young, music was what I used to cope. I would lose myself in songwriting and compositions, listening to dance, Americana and great nineties beats.” She adds, “I guess it’s about defiance in a way too. About overcoming something as monumental as this. I started to feel a kindness towards myself that I hadn’t felt before, after years of blaming myself for what happened. I started to feel compassion towards my younger self. A lot of peace came as a result.”

Klang has previously shared the song Magic Stone, a gently uplifting and hopeful ode to her baby girl told through her hypnotising brand of americana-influenced vintage pop, and lead single Mercedes, a soaring synth-driven track that radiates with optimism for her daughter’s future. She also recently announced headline shows across the UK and Europe, kicking off on the 25th October in Brighton, UK and includes a date in London at Hackney’s Oslo. She has earned fans all over Europe for her live sets that are at once exhilarating, moving and intimate. All dates are below.

Klang has always had a talent for autobiographical song writing, like on her acclaimed 2018 debut Love in The Milky Way, which won Best Album at the Swedish Grammis awards. It continued on the following year’s Creamy Blue, her second album that earned another nomination for Best Album and Best Alternative Pop at the Grammis awards, and another nod for European Album Of The Year at the IMPALA Awards. While her sound had previously touched upon a mix of influences (‘60 and ‘70s pop, Americana, an undercurrent of country), 2021’s VIRGO – her most well-received album to date – then broadened her scope to include elements of ‘80s synth-pop (again winning a Swedish Grammy for Best Alternative Pop).

Upcoming UK Tour Dates:

OCTOBER
25th – Latest Music Bar, Brighton
26th – Oslo, London
28th – The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
29th – YES, Manchester
30th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

King Princess Finds Safety At Koko

Architects @ The O2 (Abigail Shii)

Architects Give London’s O2 Arena So Much More Than Whiplash

The O2 Arena is dark. A rumble transforms into what sounds like an air raid siren. Bass drones stab through, in time with bars of light above and below the stage. Shimmers appear further back, casting shadows. Electro beats kick in. Suddenly, just for a moment, the lights and sound cut out; a deep breath before the synths of Elegy begin. Spotlights hit Sam Carter as he starts to sing, the rest of the stage still murky.

Wayne Kramer of MC5/MC50 @ The O2 Arena (Kalpesh Patel)

MC50 Announce Explosive Live Album ‘10 MORE’ – Out December 5th

Legendary Detroit rock pioneers MC50 – the modern incarnation of the MC5, led by the late founding guitarist Wayne Kramer – have announced a brand-new live album, 10 MORE, set for release on 5th December. The record captures the unrelenting power and political punch of the band’s acclaimed 2018 world tour, which reignited the revolutionary energy that first made the MC5 one of rock’s most radical and influential forces.

EMF @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (Adrian Hextall)

EMF, Jesus Jones & Bis Bring Britpop Energy Back To O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

It was a full-on ‘90s Brit legends night at West London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, with three bands who made their mark during the decade proving they’ve still got plenty of spark left. Throw in a few special guests and a crowd that was up for it from the first note, and you’ve got one of those nights that remind you just how much fun live music can be.

Wyatt Flores @ Roundhouse (Henry Finnegan / @finneganfoto)

Wyatt Flores Brings Honest Heart And Sharp Style To London’s Roundhouse

On a crisp October night at London’s Roundhouse, Wyatt Flores stepped onto the stage to a roaring crowd, his name echoing around the vaulted room with a force that surprised even him. Supporting 49 Winchester on their UK run, the Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter might technically have been the opener, but from the reaction that greeted him, it was clear many had come just as much for Wyatt.

49 Winchester @ Roundhouse (Henry Finnegan / @finneganfoto)

From Russell County To Camden Town: 49 Winchester’s Triumphant Roundhouse Performance

Virginia’s 49 Winchester transformed Camden’s Roundhouse into a celebration of straight-from-the-heart Americana. Early in the set, frontman Isaac Gibson acknowledged to the audience that this was the band’s first sold-out night on the tour and the response from the crowd made clear how much the moment meant to everyone in the room.

Echobelly @ Electric Ballroom (Kalpesh Patel)

Echobelly Bring ON To Life At The Electric Ballroom – A Triumphant Celebration Of Britpop’s Enduring Spirit

It’s been three decades since Echobelly released ON, the Britpop-era gem that cemented them as one of the most vital and distinctive voices of the mid-90s. On Thursday night at London’s Electric Ballroom, the band — fronted by the magnetic Sonya Madan and founding guitarist Glenn Johansson — returned to Camden to celebrate that legacy, playing the album in full to a sold-out crowd that sang, swayed, and grinned their way through one of the most joyous nostalgia trips of the year.

The Kooks @ The O2 (Kalpesh Patel)

Not Naïve – The Kooks Are Always Where They Need To Be At London’s O2 Arena

Brighton Indie Pop darlings The Kooks played quite possibly the biggest and best show of their 20 year career at The O2 Arena on Saturday night. A night of nostalgia, of celebration and of cementing themselves as one of the best British bands formed in the 21st century.

Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory @ O2 Academy Birmingham (Nick Allan)

New Found Glory Never Miss, Only Hit At O2 Academy Birmingham

There’s something about a New Found Glory show that feels like coming home. No matter how many years have passed or how much life has changed, when those opening chords hit, you’re right back where it all started — shouting lyrics with your friends, sweaty, smiling, and completely lost in the moment.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing