Makthaverskan (Sweden) – Pity Party (single/future album track)

In the Power Hall of the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester, before it underwent a refurb, there used to be giant iconic machines that powered everything from cotton mills to fish &chip shops, electricity generators to railways during the Industrial Revolution in the 19^th and early 20th centuries.

I used to marvel at the power they could generate but nothing there compares to Gothenburg based In the Power Hall of the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester, before it underwent a refurb, there used to be giant iconic machines that powered everything from cotton mills to fish &chip shops, electricity generators to railways during the Industrial Revolution in the 19^th and early 20th centuries.

I used to marvel at the power they could generate but nothing there compares to Gothenburg based Makthaverskan, whose latest single ‘Pity Party’would probably outlast all of them.

Its three and a half minutes of harmonious nonstop hard-driving, shoegaze-tweaked post punk that would probably keep the Swedish national grid going if Mad Vlad started targeting the power supply there.

They are described in the PR notes as “intense” and that’s a huge understatement.

‘Pity Party’ is one of few songs that I’ve heard that dispenses not only with the traditional Verse–Chorus–Verse–Chorus–Bridge–Chorus (ABABCB) song structure at least that you’d notice it – but throws it straight out of the window while not even permitting a bridge to influence proceedings.

It just keeps going like an unstoppable force and never ceases until it collapses, exhausted at the end, along with the band I’m guessing.

That said it’s a catchy little tune, chord-minimal but enlivened by a few deft, almost indiscernible key changes and enough jangly guitar to last you until the New Year.

Meanwhile, vocalist Maja Milner’s voice, lying somewhere between that if Pom Poko’s Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit and Aurora, is a delight and even sexy in its own way.

And it could probably power one of those industrial engines without assistance.

The song concerns personal obsession with someone who is no longer in your orbit, taking devotion to new and untested levels and how destructive that can be. And it’s almost manic construction easily conveys that impression of an unstoppable train of caustic desire.

Lyrically, it’s smart, keeping word count down to a minimum while stating its case without fuss:

“You tell everyone your story/Without grace or glory/You speak my words for me/Without knowing how.”

I haven’t encountered Makthaverskan (which translates as ‘The Ruler’) previously but they’ve been around since 2008 and have built a reputation for their live performances. Hoping I might catch them soon. Perhaps we can find them some room in the Power Hall though we’d have to unplug everything else.

‘Pity Party’ was released on November 28th, and the new album, ‘Glass and bones’, will be released on April 3rd, 2026.

(Continues after the Spotify link).

Find them on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makthaverskanofficial