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LÉON’s sophomore album came about after a period of great change in her life, shortly before the pandemic rocked all of our worlds. So creating Apart, out today, was unlike any recording experience she’d had until then.

The singer-songwriter, born Lotta Lindgren, came home to her native Sweden at the end of 2019, after a year of touring her self-titled debut. As the adrenaline of constantly being surrounded by her bandmates and crowds of fans died down, Lindgren also had to deal with the end of a relationship, after splitting with her longterm boyfriend.

She rang in 2020 from Stockholm, living alone for the first time, and dealing with her grief and isolation. Then the pandemic hit. But Lindgren took this solitude in stride, and started writing as she did before she got involved in the music industry — entirely on her own.

Apart was completed in Stockholm from start to finish, with producer Martin Stilling, an old friend of Lindgren’s. Together, they took the vulnerability of her songs and made them into a cinematic, new album. The impeccably placed string sections and stunning harmonies make for an all-consuming sonic experience. On Apart, Lindgren is the most vulnerable she’s ever been, and it’s a welcome evolution.

“I think it’s just honest — very honest,” LÉON says of the album. “All the songs were pretty emotional to make for me. It’s very personal.”

Below, LÉON talks to PAPER about the unique experience of creating an album in the midst of a pandemic, and how that resulted in a certain return to form in terms of her creation process, as well as the healing powers of making music.

Tracklist:

1 Head And Heart On Fire
2 And It Breaks My Heart
3 Crazy/Stupid
4 In A Stranger’s Arms
5 Chasing A Feeling
6 Falling Apart
7 Who You Lovin
8 Seventeen
9 Tell Me
10 Die For You
11 Apart

OVERALL RATING: 5 stars