Namethepet

By EQ Guest Blogger Grant Weir. Visit his music blogs:
http://theisleoffailedpopstars.blogspot.com
http://lostpoptreasures.blogspot.com

Being the insatiable music gobbler that I am, it always both shocks and delights me when I discover an awesome artist who has actually been around awhile and yet has managed to escape my notice. One such artist is Sweden’s Name The Pet. I was turned on to her when I noticed that a Last.fm friend, with whom I have “super” musical compatibility, had her among his overall top artists. (Thanks CocoMelody!) I immediately found her Myspace page and was instantly blown away by what I heard. A new obsession was born!

Name The Pet is actually Hanna Brandén, a young lass from Stockholm. And like fellow Nordic pop princesses Robyn and Annie, she specializes in edgy electro-pop with a very sweet candy coating. Her self-titled debut album was released in her native land in late 2009 on Dolores Records, backed by EMI Scandinavia, and the first techno-funky single “Get On The Bus” got instant local attention. She followed it up with the aptly titled “Sunshine”, and earned a 2010 Swedish Grammy nod for Best New Act in the process. Naturally this led to international interest, and a deal with Astralwerks America has been rumoured, though no physical CD has been released to date. However, to this end, the appropriately titled “American Boys” was released as the first US single, with a very patriotic video to match.

Since then, Name The Pet has been working on new material, and recently remastered her song “Falling” (recorded with friends, fellow countrymen, and blog sensations The Sound Of Arrows) for single release. She is currently touring Scandinavia, but I keep my fingers crossed that either Astralwerks gets off of their ass and officially releases the album or another international label snatches her up (her deal with EMI is no more, alas). I want to see this girl live!  Until then, we are fortunate enough to be able to download and enjoy the wonders of her album on most of the Amazon.com’s of the world.