Interviews

Love Locked In A Dark Room, with gloomy post punk act ISOLATED YOUTH

9 mins read
Isolated Youth
ISOLATED YOUTH by Emma Jones

Swedish post-punk quartet Isolated Youth hails from the remote coastal city of Norrtälje near Stockholm and just returned with their new single “Love Locked in a Dark Room,” paving the way for their debut album Miserere Mei, set for April 4 via Birthday Productions and Memorials of Distinction.

The new track seamlessly and in a non-obvious way merges multiple styles, enchanting with a truly unique atmosphere—at once cold yet cozy, light and airy, while also heavy—and it must be said the guys have blended various influences, from Swedish to British, into a fascinating amalgamation that, after a few listens, feels distinctly their own style.

Frontman Axel Mårdbarg’s voice shifts from an icy falsetto to an almost bluesy depth in “Love Locked in a Dark Room.” It sets the tone for the entire album, building on the nighttime moods and unsettled feeling of Sweden’s cold coast.

According to William, Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer deeply influenced the lyrics: “I have a deep connection to Swedish literature, especially poetry… Tomas Tranströmer can be insightful in describing the room and everything in-between different clear sensations.”

Love Locked in a Dark Room” was the first song written for miserere mei and hooked Faris Badwan of The Horrors when he stumbled on the group’s livestream from Norrtälje Konsthall. Guitarist William Mårdbarg says it captures being “out on a ‘cold, dark, violent night’” and channels a sense of being “underwater and looking up to the surface.”

Faris, now referred to by the band as their “weird gothic uncle,” soon joined as co-producer alongside Max Hayes—known for his work with Primal Scream and Rolling Stones—shaping the raw Scandinavian gloom of Isolated Youth into a more polished, rock-leaning force. “Faris and Max are a great team and good people,” William says. “Max brings this Primal Scream 90s aesthetic, and Faris is Mr. Goth.”

They’re described by Post-Punk magazine as “conjuring one of the most authentic early 80’s guitar-based post-punk sound these seasoned ears have heard in eons,” while Return of Rock notes they’re “bringing back more of that dark and atmospheric post-punk sound,” and Nordic Music Central writes the band’s music “haunts you in the same way a TV drama does when you know the serial killer is hiding in the bushes.”

ISOLATED YOUTH

Miserere mei (“Have Mercy on Me”) unfolds through ten tracks, including the desolate “Ghost Town” and the ghostly “Psykosoma,” both shaped by real-life environments—like a studio near a forested graveyard and walks through deserted Stockholm streets.

Formed by brothers Axel and William, drummer Andreas Geidemark, and bassist Elmer Hallsby, the group started out in their small hometown, with strong support from the local art center and photographer Jörgen Brennicke, who filmed that fateful livestream.

Their influences draw on The Chameleons, The Gun Club, Siouxsie & The Banshees, and a broader lineage of post-punk, but they also cite contemporary names: Black Country, New Road, Goat Girl, Fontaines D.C., The Horrors’ side projects, Yung Lean’s Död Mark, and Lebanon Hanover (with whom they’ve toured).

Isolated Youth by @jamesaburgess
Isolated Youth by @jamesaburgess

Co-producer Max Hayes calls miserere mei “an actual real rock album,” and Isolated Youth sees it as a statement forged through obstacles—health issues, pandemic travel chaos, and personal struggles.

The album cover itself originates from a painting William created early in the process. “I had the phrase ‘Miserere Mei’ tattooed on my arm and painted the painting that was to become the cover art,” he explains. “Establishing a visual presence helped us find a new path.” He references Arvo Pärt’s choral works as another inspiration for the album title, and mentions a family background that includes a lineage of priests.

Isolated Youth

Though rooted in introspection, Isolated Youth’s songs still land with a danceable bite, bridging the darkness of vintage post-punk with a sharp, modern edge reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails or Joy Division, with a pinch of Brian Molko’s charisma.

Faris Badwan’s mentorship enhances that uneasy balance of pop hooks and gothic tension, and the band feels it captures something about a “miserable Scandi-vibe” in a way that remains instantly recognizable. “I think we’re much connected to a larger Swedish sound,” William notes, pointing out influences from classic Swedish artists and referencing the experience of waiting for a bus in total darkness outside Norrtälje, hearing a distant foghorn, and “maybe listening to an early Thåström album.”

ISOLATED YOUTH

With the album due April 4, the group hopes to see these songs travel well beyond Stockholm, maybe hitting festivals like Roskilde or reuniting with Faris for UK shows.

“There’s always the next thing,” William says. “Right now, it’s about getting a good release for miserere mei and then seeing what else happens.” They’re also eyeing possibilities in Asia, reflecting the steady global growth of a band once nurtured by a small-town art center. “Sometimes a good band can come out of the middle of nowhere,” William says. “I hope that’s true.”

Love Locked in a Dark Room” is out now via Birthday Productions and Memorials of Distinction, with Miserere Mei following on April 4.

Explore more in out interview with Isolated Youth, where we discuss their creative path from early EPs to the upcoming debut album, their collaboration with Faris Badwan and Max Hayes, and more.

Your journey from the early EPs to your upcoming debut album ‘Miserere Mei’ shows significant evolution. Could you walk us through this progression, particularly focusing on how working with Faris Badwan and Max Hayes has shaped your sound?

Faris and Max are a great team and good people. Max brings this Primal Scream 90s aesthetic, and Faris is Mr. Goth. That’s a good duo for producing Isolated Youth, especially our first project, where some of the Stockholm industry was a bit like, who are these odd souls? That’s where these two stepped in and took our miserable Scandi-vibe into the studio, and out came this quite catchy thing, with a lot of emotion, I think.

Isolated Youth

‘Love Locked in a Dark Room’ was the first song written for the album and caught Faris’s attention during your Norrtälje Art Center livestream. Could you tell us about that pivotal moment and how it led to this collaboration?

It was due to our hometown’s art center’s enthusiasm, to get things started. Norrtälje Konsthall, is a great place for such a small coastal city, they still have their ears out, and knowing me and us coming from this small place, they have always supported us. We also collaborated with talented photographer Jörgen Brennicke who was DOP. Other than that, it was just us being pure and playing the quite raw renditions of the song into the livestream, and luckily it found its way to our now gothic uncle Faris. He recognized us, for what we are, early on.

And for this event and all of this that followed I am happy and grateful. It’s like this kind of kitchy saying that sometimes a good band can come out of a little group of people in the middle of nowhere, like Norrtälje, just getting together and going for it. I hope that’s true…

William, you’ve mentioned the song captures being “out on a cold, dark, violent night” and draws inspiration from Tomas Tranströmer’s poetry. How did Swedish literature and your surroundings in Norrtälje influence the album’s lyrical themes?

I think it is absolutely integral to my songwriting and lyricism. The Nordic light, cold weather, the lonely house on the hill next to the forest where I grew up, it basically is my DNA. And I, of course, have a deep connection to Swedish literature, and especially poetry, I find to be like a guiding beacon. Tomas Tranströmer can be insightful in describing the room and everything in-between different clear sensations. I have read all his works, and some poems like the ones from ’Sorgegondolen’ are just very strong Scandinavian culture. Other Swedish poets I like would be Werner Aspenström, Stig Dagerman, Agnes Gerner, for example.

You say that the album began with a painting that became the cover art. Could you discuss this visual art-to-music translation process and how it shaped the album’s atmosphere?

The aesthetic of an album is so important, the general feel to it, from the visual representation to the makeup of the artistic choices. I had the phrase ’Miserere Mei’ tattooed on my arm and painted the painting that was to become the cover art. So I was kind of inside the aesthetic of this album from the start, and from there it is about finding clues from other great works, like maybe Cortex or Stina Nordenstam, but at the same time finding a new path. I think establishing a visual presence helped with this.

Isolated Youth

The title ‘Miserere Mei’ (“Have Mercy On Me”) seems to reflect the challenges you faced during recording. What led you to choose this title, and how does it represent the album’s journey?

This is a strong general phrase that has been inside Christian music for a long time. I sometimes say jokingly (although true) that I come from a long line of priests. However, it was more the choral works of Arvo Pärt that got me into this phrase. I’d like to keep some of our hardships to myself, but the journey through this album was at times demanding, and I think ’a necessary belief that I can walk straight through it all’, like Nick Cave put it in the lovely Berlin documentary, was absolutely true. However, I think the phrase and many works around it are also a lot about finding purpose and light, not only focusing on the bad stuff.

You recorded in various locations, including a studio near a forested graveyard. How did these different environments contribute to tracks like ‘Ghost Town’ and ’Psykosoma’?

Well, they certainly were suitable. However, these tracks were more impacted by walking home late at night in a cold Stockholm. Swedish band Lifelover have this song about Stockholm, they seem to have understood it similarly, at least in the sense that we have similar taste in chord progressions. It is quite reminiscent of Stockholm at certain times.

There’s mention of Axel’s vocal evolution significantly impacting the band’s sound. How has this natural progression influenced your approach to songwriting?

I think we’ve just matured together, and starting so early on putting out music, there was this phase where we wanted to readjust to the band’s expression as it was a bit further down the road.

As a band, you have an ability to create both introspective tracks and danceable post-punk anthems. How do you balance these different energies throughout the album?

I think we are much connected to a larger Swedish sound. However, we’re much more Stockholm than Gothenburg, so it might also be down to our specific location.

I mean, waiting for a bus in total darkness outside of Norrtälje, and hearing the fog horn from the ocean a bit further away, maybe listening to an early Thåström album, or maybe something from Freddie Waddling. Of course, it shaped me, and I think others can relate to this too. Sweden also seems to have a good understanding of making pop music and hooks, so maybe that can be heard too in the album, although we didn’t have this as an outspoken intention, it is sometimes still quite ’catchy’. I never thought I would connect with a music scene beyond like listening to all these albums from my dad’s CD collection, so us ending up like this was a bit of a surprise… but we’re glad.

Your sound references classic bands like The Chameleons and Siouxsie & The Banshees while remaining contemporary. Which current post-punk bands do you feel particularly aligned with? Are there any recent releases that have inspired you?

I have listened a bit to what has been going on in South London, like early music from bands like Black Country New Road, Goat Girl, Fontaines DC. Of course, The Horrors have been very important since we met Faris. And also their different side projects, attending smaller shows with them in east London, like Skinned, has been interesting. But also the Swedish scene, like Yung Lean’s punk project Död Mark is very good. He has a very good live album from a show I saw. Hmm, what else, I mean Lebanon Hanover I have seen maybe 10 times since we’ve toured with them a lot, while they’re much different from us I feel aligned with their quite brave outlook of making good danceable songs within the post-punk lens.

Isolated Youth
ISOLATED YOUTH by Emma Jones

Looking ahead to the album’s April release and beyond, what’s on the horizon for Isolated Youth? Any particular releases you’re excited about or bands you’re hoping to tour with?

I guess we will have to see, what’s on the horizon. There’s this book by Johanna Bornermark that argues ’The horizon always remains’ that I really like. This is of course a blunt simplistic take on that book, but It was given to me by Jimmy Gustafsson of Norrtälje Konsthall, having mentioned them early on and how they helped us, maybe it is full circle to reference this book and say, there’s always the next thing, and right now it is getting a good release for ’Miserere Mei’, and then something else, hopefully, it is hard to say for sure.

But just from the top of my head: Maybe playing a few good festivals, like Roskilde or something else. Also delving into the Stockholm scene more, doing good shows around there, maybe a few nice events with the new label Birthday, something with The Horrors in the UK. Maybe a night at The Windmill, something with our UK label Memorials of Distinction? We also have the Japan release, so something in Asia is also looking likely.

Karol Kamiński

DIY rock music enthusiast and web-zine publisher from Warsaw, Poland. Supporting DIY ethics, local artists and promoting hardcore punk, rock, post rock and alternative music of all kinds via IDIOTEQ online channels.
Contact via www.idioteq.com@gmail.com

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