‘Late Night’ Music Your Way

Up-and-coming Swedish musician shy martin has a lot of thoughts that she wants to share with the world. Interestingly named, late night thoughts is her emotionally-charged debut album that explores themes such as mental health, search for happiness, and the recovery of oneself.

The album serves as an honest and vulnerable introduction to fans as they are able to resonate with the themes of the album and apply them to their own lives. In a way, this is similar as if the listener is introduced to a friend for the first time instead of an authority figure that has unattainable characteristics. The feminine, confessional nature is reminiscent of Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo. In fact, martin has gone on record stating that the creation of the album comes from personal experiences:

“The process of writing ‘late night thoughts’ started from a cancelled session that ended up with me, Fanny Hultman and Kerstin ljungström writing the first song off the album. I felt right away that the creative space we had together was really special and something I’d been missing for a long time. It reminded me of the feeling I had coming home from school rehearsing and playing around with my band as a teenager. For half a year, we spent lots of time in the studio writing, producing and simply just hanging out. All the songs came together naturally from conversations we had about things I was going through at the time. All the visuals for the album were created by my brother Hampus Hjellström and me in the village where we both grew up with help from our family and friends.”

shy martin

The opening track “wish I didn’t know you” is an ukulele-led sad girl anthem in which martin expresses regret on laying her eyes on her now-ex. However, she admits that she could not control her love when they met. Next, “late night thoughts” takes an upbeat turn in which she expresses infatuation and cannot stop thinking about the object of her affection, to the point where she loses sleep.

You’re a daydream, I can’t get off my mind
In the coffee I drink, in the strangers I’m passing by
A fantasy that’s messing with my decisions
It’s okay, I don’t mind if you stay in my late night thoughts

late night thoughts

“glued to the floor” is an atmospheric, acoustic guitar track that explores the feelings of depression in which martin feels detached from reality and feels that she is stuck in one direction because she doesn’t care about how she feels or what she does. “grow old together” is a bittersweet acoustic song in which she wishes that she and her lover can remain in love forever to the point where they “grow old together” like the title suggests.

The chill piano and drum combination of “wait it out” is the album’s standout track that has been praised by publications such as Billboard, V Magazine, Stereogum, Consequence, Clash, and The Sun. It has also been included on Spotify’s Fresh and Chill and Indie Pop playlists. This song was inspired by mental health issues from someone close to the singer.

“‘wait it out’ was the first song written and produced for the album together with Fanny Hultman and Kerstin Ljungström. I had the line ‘We can just stay here and wait it out’ on my phone when we got to the studio. A person close to me was going through a burnout which is something I’ve experienced up close through more than half my life. The whole song came together really fast just by talking about it. It’s a subject I’ve been wanting to write about for a while.”

shy martin

“don’t let me forget that you love me” is a minimalist track that only consists of a ukulele and martin’s vocals. It is symbolistic, considering the fact that she shares her feelings of loneliness and desires to have her lover to make it all better. The grand finale “got me thinking” is the breezy, surf-influenced where martin is at her most contemplative where she is deciding whether she wants to move on from a toxic relationship or still remain in love.

Aside from her rising career as a singer, martin has written for artists like Ellie Goulding and the Chainsmokers. Her artistry has been promoted by fellow Swede, Max Martin and his “Equalizer Project,” which promotes gender equality in the music industry.

Follow shy martin: YouTube/Facebook

Stream late night thoughts on Spotify: