A quick return for Robert Pettersson who was only here in November with a song, ‘You’, a serious one about a serious subject – a craving for suicide – and in which he crushed the alter ego that had plagued him for so long by driving him inexorably in that direction.
There was almost bound to be a sequel to such a fraught scenario and it manifests itself in the form of ‘Echoes’, his fifth single, which is about getting up and daring to trust yourself again. By which I assume he means not letting ‘You’ be given a second chance.
He is candid about how self esteem weighs more heavily than self confidence.
If push came to shove I would have said that the two are the same but I am swayed by the realisation that someone who is bipolar might possess self confidence, and seemingly in spades perhaps, but fail to have an iota of self esteem.
I was a little perplexed last time out that the gravitas of the lyrics appeared not to match the tempo and positivity of the music.
‘Echoes’ is similarly hard and fast and this time there is a rationale for that as he seeks to outpace the past, the “sin of life” as he calls it, and “runs towards what is mine” which I assume to be a tranquil state of mind
The question is though – has he succeeded? For the most part the lyrics are positive in nature but those that are not are of concern, such as the suddenly introduced “Why do you let me live”, “why do you always follow?” ‘You’ is still a part of the equation.
Then, “I don’t need this now, there’s nothing left to give”, mixed with references to “my last endeavour”.
The impression I get is of someone that has almost beaten his demons but remains wary of their ability to reshape and resume their attack.
One thing I will say for sure is that I admire his determination to tackle those demons through publicly released music. And he does it without inviting listeners’ pity or engaging in self pity.
I suspect this story has some way to run yet.
“Echoes’ is released via Playground Music and is available on all digital platforms.
The album ‘Deabolo Hypomania’ will be released on April 10th, 2026.
(Continues after the Spotify link)
Find him on:
Website: https://www.robertpettersson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576198115546&utm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertpetterssonofficial
Image: Chris Rehn
