Review: Svea delights with eclectic and assured new EP Pity Party

by Joe Sharratt
in Reviews

Hailing from Sweden and otherwise known as Svea Virginia Kågemark, SVEA turned a lot of heads with her debut single Don’t Mind Me back in 2018, a smart, confident pop track with a message of empowerment. It marked her out as a rising star, and her follow up track Selfish only accelerated that reputation. Her 2019 single, Complicated, with Alexander Oscar has racked up millions of streams on Spotify.

Despite still being just twenty year’s old, SVEA is now back again with her latest release, the six-track Pity Party EP, which follows on from last years This Is EP. Opening track Too Much is a bonafide party starter, while I’ll Get Better is a more introspective affair, and a track SVEA herself has called “one of my most personal songs yet. It’s about that life is really hard sometimes. But it will get better.”

Never Call Me Again swirls around a hypnotic industrial beat, while All My Exes builds from its gentle intro, only to drop back down into an acoustic-backed defiant vocal refrain. Pity Party is a slice of slick contemporary pop dedicated to debauchery, while Aftermath is a smooth break up track that sees SVEA confessing: “I don't want you back / It's the aftermath of us / But you don't seem to get it, uh / There's no turning back / It's the aftermath of us / One day you might get it / I don't wanna be with ya”.

Taking to her official Facebook page to mark the release of the EP, Svea wrote: “PITY PARTY IS FINALLY OUT!!! Omg I don’t know where to start. I’ve been working so damn hard on it this whole year and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. I love every single track from the bottom of my heart and I’m so happy that I can finally share them with all of you. It’s some of my most honest and personal songs so far and I really hope you guys can feel that.” SVEA, you really can. It’s a superb collection and one that will only add to the hype surrounding this young star in the making.

Pity Party tracklist:

1. Too Much

2. I’ll Get Better

3. Never Call Me Again

4. All My Exes

5. Pity Party

6. Aftermath

Watch the official video for Too Much here.

Joe Sharratt
Author: Joe Sharratt
Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.