Austinist Giveaway: Frida Hyvönen at Emo’s Lounge

There may not exactly be a dearth of talented female pianists these days, but Sweden’s Frida Hyvönen, in her understated, unassuming matter, might just trump them all at the moment. Her debut album, Until Death Comes, was released in America last month, and she's quickly garnering some attention. Less frantic and, indeed, less intricate than Tori Amos, Hyvönen creates songs that an unsuspecting listener could almost dismiss as mere background music. Her compositions are disarmingly simple, her vocals suggestive of a cutesy naivety that does little to break her apart from the pack. But the minute she sings, “Once I was a serene teenaged child/Once I felt your cock against my thigh,” all bets are off, and for the rest of the album you’re straining to hear every word. She doesn’t stop there. Come Another Night seems innocent enough – relatively speaking – but you just might second-guess yourself when she closes out the song repeating the line, “You do me so good.” It’s enough to make us pore over the lyrics after a listen or two.

For all the intrigue stirred up by her provocative lyrics, it’s worth noting that Hyvönen is not a one-trick pony. She does, in fact, cover other subjects, and her musical reach extends farther than the narrow confines of the standard pop song, as well. She has, for instance, written a score for a musical featuring dancing poodles, which will be playing for clearly super-progressive Scandinavian audiences next year. Sadly, there are no plans to bring that particular show to Austin, but you do have the opportunity to catch the musical talent behind it at Emo’s Louge tonight. The penultimate show of Hyvönen’s limited American tour also features Tacks, The Boy Disaster and Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater. And, while the good people at Emo’s can always be counted on to keep it affordable, we’re going to go the extra mile and give you a chance to get in free!

Congrats winners!

Frida Hyvönen [Official] [Myspace]
Tacks, The Boy Disaster [Myspace]

Frida Hyvönen, Tacks, The Boy Disaster & Jonathan Meiburg
Friday, November 17
Emo’s Lounge [map]
Doors at 8pm