An Insider's Guide to Gothenburg from Swedish Folk Singer José González

Far from the Stockholm pop machine that birthed ABBA, there is a thriving and diverse music scene on the West Coast of Sweden in Gothenburg (pronounced Yet-eh-boree). Once best known for melodic death metal (think At The Gates), the city is now recognized for a flourishing indie rock community (Little Dragon, The Knife, Jens Lekman). And it is, notably, the home of folky Swedish singer-songwriter José González, whose third full-length album, Vestiges Claws, is being released today.

Though he’s now celebrated for relaxed, romantic lyricism, González began his musical career by writing and performing “the backup screaming” for a hardcore band. He’s followed his own path since, and his first album in almost eight years is, fittingly for a former biochemistry student, an evolutionary one. “I added more guitars, more percussion, more vocals than usual,” he says. González recorded most of it in his Gothenburg apartment, and he describes the sound as “homemade.”

The album is richer and more layered than previous work, and there is a sense, enhanced when a choir chimes in on “Leaf Off / The Cave,” of optimism. “I have almost always an ambition to start at some emotional level but then leave the listener on another. I always try to make [it so] that there’s a step upwards,” González says. “I see music as a potential tool, almost like self-help. I use music all the time for myself, when I’m in a certain mood and I want to get to another.”

It’s also quite Swedish. On songs like “Let It Carry You,” González, born to Argentinian parents, has internalized the longing for light that pervades Nordic culture. “Living here in Sweden,” he says, “I can relate to the birds flying away once in a while when it gets cold.” Here, González gives us his guide to Gothenburg.