“Abandoned Places” by Freyr – A Song Review

 

     Appealing features have already exposed the beauty of “Abandoned Places,” but the striking feature is the contrast of vocal characteristics during an exchange that first surfaces 50 seconds into the single from Freyr. In musical terms, it is fair to refer to the exchange as a “call-and-response sequence.” But while the second voice is responding, the first voice isn’t necessarily interested in calling. The lyrics are included in this post, with the second voice in italics.
 
     The first voice has a higher pitch and is more adventurous. In contrast, the second voice is lower (to the point of vocal fry), more cautious, and probably better reasoned. Freyr said of the exchange:
  “Everyone can relate to the feeling of wanting to do something, but the voice in your head tells you, ‘This is not a good idea.’ It’s the angel on one shoulder and the demon on the other.”
 
     “Abandoned Places” starts out strong. The intro features a combination of a melodic acoustic guitar and an atmospheric electric guitar. That 40-seconds intro establishes the mood of the single from Freyr. Later, the piano plays an important role. For us, the most enchanting feature occurs just beyond the one-minute mark with the harmonization of the seemingly existential lines “We don’t know what we are // We don’t know why we are.” They are “seemingly” existential, until the lyrics end with “Every time we see one another,” which evidences that the song is less philosophical and more relationship-relevant.
 
     The promotional material for “Abandoned Places” includes the following insightful summary:
  “A classic call-and-response, cinematic piano and guitar entwine while his breathy vocals resound with a question, ‘Why do we come here to abandoned places? Nothing here but dry earth, but we keep coming.’”
 
     Fryer is Freyr Flodgren, who is from Sweden, but in 2022 he headed to Germany. Living out of various Airbnbs for nearly five weeks, he conjured up initial ideas for his forthcoming music on his laptop in a state of perpetual motion physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Freyr is signed with Nettwerk Music Group Inc.
 
     “Abandoned Places” by Freyr

Music platforms: https://freyr.ffm.to/abandonedplaces
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freyrmusic
Website: https://freyrmusic.net/

Lyrics of “Abandoned Places” by Freyr
We’re just human we’re not pretty
At least we’re not that on the surface
 
Oh we wanna do it
But we should not
It's a kind of dance
Oh no its not
 
It’s gonna do you good
Oh no it won’t
Maybe we should try
We really shouldn’t
 
We don’t know what we are
We don’t know why we are
 
I don’t need no angel
Oh yes you do
Our bodies tied to reason
The way they should
 
It’s only gonna free us
You know you’re wrong
We won’t be the first ones
It doesn’t matter
 
We don’t know what we are
We don’t know why we are
 
We’re moving slowly through abandoned places
This is where we end up every time
Why do we come here to abandoned places
Nothing here but dry earth but we keep coming
 
All we wanna do
Oh no we don’t
Then we’ll never know
Oh no we won’t
 
We just wanna be here
It’s not that easy
But it feels so good
Only for now
 
We don’t know what we are
We don’t know why we are
 
We’re moving slowly through abandoned places
This is where we end up every time
Why do we come here to abandoned places
Nothing here but dry earth but we keep coming
 
In the things that we have gathered
A collection of the unmade memories
 
We’re moving slowly through abandoned places
This is where we end up every time
Why do we come here to abandoned places
Nothing here but dry earth but we keep coming
Every time we see one another