Moto Boy (a.k.a. Swedish singer-songwriter Oskar Humlebo) releases his stunning fourth studio album, simply titled New Music - his first full-length release since 2014's Keep Your Darkness Secret. Produced by Niko Stoessl (Dave Gahan, Grau), and with contributions from musicians the likes of Nina Persson (The Cardigans), PIKKO and Grau, New Music is elegant, melancholic indie pop with musical styles that range from polished, Berlin-inspired electronic music ("Everybody's Running from Something", "Dead for Seconds", "Hinter Meinen Augenlidern") to soft, dreamy, strings/guitar-prevalent compositions ("Some Broken Thing", "Open Your Door", "Exit Krossener Straße"). The latter are representative of the atmosphere and sound found on Moto Boy's early releases, while the more electronic sound was first introduced on a few tracks on the Keep Your Darkness Secret album.
Oskar's wide-ranging vocals are exquisite - from the straightforward and sincere, to a bit of gender-bending operatic in some instances. Honesty, non-compromise and simply doing what he wanted to do are elements that launched Moto Boy's musical career back in 2007 - including a bar/pub gig that involved Oskar performing a cover of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Pie Jesu", complete with blackmetal guitar, lipstick and red leather jacket.
The current single from New Music is "Dead for Seconds", featuring The Cardigans' Nina Persson on vocals along with Moto Boy - an electronic, drum machine-driven track that has a cool, stop-frame accompanying video.
MOTO BOY feat. NINA PERSSON "Dead for Seconds" (Official Video)
Another standout track, "Everybody's Running from Something", is reminiscent of late 80's, dark-sounding Depeche Mode (think Black Celebration and Music for the Masses), and is a great opening track to the second half of the album. "Reasons" is lovely - it's probably my favorite track on the album, with great hit single potential. It is smooth and musically well-balanced, and presents Moto Boy's glistening, recognizable songwriting and vocal style.
I was first introduced to Moto Boy's music with his beautiful love ballad, "If Only Your Bed Could Cry", performed as a duet with Swedish indie pop star Titiyo and featured on her 2008 album Hidden. From there, I discovered Moto Boy's first two releases (2008's For Martha EP and debut album Moto Boy) and have been hooked ever since.
Follow Moto Boy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and find additional news and updates on his official website. You can listen to New Music and his previous releases on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.