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It takes confidence to write a new Christmas song; it takes real courage to call it “Silent Night.” (First in a series of Swede Pop “singles.”)
That’s what Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide, Säkert!) did in the final installment of “Correspondence,” her epistolary song cycle with Jens Lekman (two of the wittiest writers / singers from Sweden or anywhere).
Lekman began by sending Norlin a song by email, and she replied with a song, back and forth for twelve months — moving explorations of human frailty and perseverance. Norlin ended up with December, and wrote “Silent Night,” which is not just a song ABOUT the popular Christmas carol, and its history, but a plea for universal love and kindness in the middle of our dark winter. It’s more relevant than ever, but (like the work of Lekman and Norlin) it will always ring true.
