Stockholm four-piece Clutter make music that's, in their own words, “fuzzy, fizzy and sweet”. Their brilliantly noisy debut album, Sugar Rush, landed on 2 October via PNKSLM Recordings, following a whirlwind couple of years that's taken them from Sweden's underground scene to stages across Europe.
We caught up with vocalist, guitarist and bassist Hilda Ander to talk melancholy bus journeys, unexpected robot romances, the importance of community and why making loud music doesn't mean you have to be a dick.
First things first, who’s in Clutter, and where did the name come from?
Emma French and I take turns playing guitar, bass and singing. Ove Jerndal plays guitar and Ville Scott plays drums.
We’re from Stockholm, Sweden. Musically, I think our home is our band, Clutter.
As for the name, I had a list of ideas on my phone and was set on some horrible alliteration, like “Chronic Clutter”. But the band wouldn’t have it, so it became just Clutter.
I was very inspired by the Ben & Jerry’s flavour Utter Butter Peanut Clutter, haha.
Tell us about your new album, Sugar Rush.
Sugar Rush is our debut album. It shows our growth into adults and into a band with bigger ambitions and bigger dreams.
Our previous EP, Loves You, was more unsure, more about us figuring ourselves out. Sugar Rush feels solid. It’s more about the world around us than the world inside us.
Turn it up loud, because that’s how it’s meant to be played!
Listen to Sugar Rush on Bandcamp.
You nearly called it quits before you even made this album, didn’t you?
Loves You was supposed to be the only music we’d ever release, and the last.
We’d finished high school and didn’t really know what to do with the band. But we sent the recordings around, just to see what people thought. When PNKSLM responded with so much excitement, it gave us the will to try again.
If they liked it, maybe more people would.
What’s the story behind ‘Kraut’, one of your earliest songs?
I feel like people really like ‘Kraut’. It’s one of the first songs we ever wrote, and we recorded it at our old school and in Ove’s bedroom.
The lyrics are based on my journey home from a party. I didn’t drink and lived an hour away from Stockholm back then, so I was feeling really melancholic about missing out on all the fun my friends were having.
Ove wanted it to be a krautrock song, so it’s really simple guitar and drums. I feel like the rhythm follows the wheels of the bus I was taking home.
And we’ve got to ask about ‘Robot’. Where did that one come from?
‘Robot’, from our new album, came from something my boyfriend said. But I took it to a completely different extreme and started thinking a lot about falling in love with the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz and Bender from Futurama.
What’s happening in Stockholm’s underground music scene right now?
The underground scene in Stockholm is thriving. Maybe more so in electronic music, but there’s a smaller rock scene doing really exciting things too.
I feel like we’ve built a community around a local club called Spice 99. Everyone plays there for free, and it’s a really good vibe, with both rock music and more electronic punk music.
We have so many talented friends doing amazing things right now, and a lot of them are playing at our album release gig here in Stockholm.
If you could rip up one rule of the music industry, what would you change?
Maybe the idea that hard music needs a hard attitude.
I think the contrast between how we sound and how we behave is one of the best things about Clutter.
It’s cool to be kind.
What have been your biggest pinch-me moments so far? And your strangest gigs?
The first time we played in London was one of those moments. We played the Shacklewell Arms, and it was completely surreal. We were only 20 and never imagined we’d get to do that kind of thing. It felt amazing.
As for strange gigs, maybe Blackpool. Blackpool was a strange place, and there were only two people there to see us!
Who would be on your dream bill?
Clutter, Charli XCX, Nirvana and ShitKid.
And we want to play Glastonbury!
What’s next for Clutter?
We’re hoping to play as much as possible. Now that the album is out, we’ve got some fun remixes from our friends coming soon.
Our big release gig here in Stockholm is probably the thing most on my mind right now. I’m really looking forward to that.
Get your ears around Sugar Rush on Bandcamp, and follow Clutter on Instagram for more music and live dates.
