Krissy Mary (Norway) – Johnny Silver (single/future album track)

We hadn’t encountered Krissy Mary previously. What caught my attention immediately was the similarity her singing voice has with that of Alela Diane; soft, sophisticated but ever so slightly careworn if you can imagine such a strange combination.

This particular song, ‘Johnny Silver’, the first single from her forthcoming album ‘Horror Vacui’, bears the same hallmarks as that of the American too, and would you believe it, the two have some physical similarities as well.

I’m banging on about a non-Nordic artist because this version of Krissy Mary, always melancholy but stripped back (guitar and vocal only although she manages to make that guitar sound like a battery of them) and gloomier compared to previous albums ‘Feme Sole’ and ‘Virago’, ticks all the boxes for me in the same way as Alela does.

The other thing that stands out is her ability as a storyteller. To some musicians that skill doesn’t come easily – but not with Krissy Mary. She could be narrating a documentary. It just trips off her tongue and both the instrumental bridge, in which the guitar seems to be slowing down like it is preparing to land, and the outro, where it speeds up and gains in volume like it’s taking off again, seem to be part of the story.

However I can only speculate on that because the downside is that I don’t hear too much of the lyrics, only grabbing onto the fact that Johnny Silver, whoever he is, has a thing about “being free”.

It’s probably because my ears or headphones are past their sell by date – or both – but I suspect the attempt to place Krissy Mary’s remarkable voice over everything else including that loud jangly guitar might have something to do with it as well, which would be a shame.

It’s still a formidable song – tuneful and melodic – from the Spellemann (Norwegian Grammy) nominated artist (and she’s an artist and photographer too) and bodes well for her third album, which is out in March 2026.

(Continues after the Spotify link)

Produced by Krissy Marie and Stian Westerhus

Find her on:

Website: https://kristinemarie.no/