In a world of endless, bottomless content, to find something that stands out from the crowd is a rare thing. But it\u2019s something that 7ebra manage without breaking a sweat. Based in Malm\u00f6, twin sisters Inez and Ella Johansson deal in sparkling indie-rock that\u2019s pretty without being soft, sweet without losing its edge and catchy without being cheap. With Inez on guitar and vocals and Ella on keys, organ and Mellotron, their minimal set-up makes a virtue of simplicity \u2013 with a sliver of guitar fuzz, and organ lines snaking around stark, striking vocals, augmented by shivering harmonies, they don\u2019t need a lot to make music that\u2019s colourful, kaleidoscopic, and effortlessly original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7ebra debuted in 2022 with the double-single I Have A Lot To Say<\/em>\/ If I Ask Her<\/em>, two helpings of psych-tinged, street-smart rock and roll, and the music scene around them wasn\u2019t slow to notice. They opened for the Future Islands and the Dandy Warhols, were picked out by Apple Music\u2019s Matt Wilkinson as a Hidden Gem of 2022 and were booked for prestigious performances at End of The Road, SXSW, and Eurosonic. With a packed schedule of shows across Europe and the UK already \u00a0planned for 2023, their world looks set to get a lot bigger \u2013 something that their debut album\u00a0\u2018Bird Hour\u2019\u00a0makes certain. The record is a warm, elegant introduction to the sound 7ebra have crafted. The songs are full of personality and character, but also retain a little bit of enigma, a sense of keeping something secret to themselves. To unwrap that elusiveness is a daunting task, but one the listener can\u2019t resist leaping into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ella and Inez\u2019s parents played in bands as they were growing up, so picking up music was a natural thing for them. The origins of 7ebra start with Inez whiling away the hours playing guitar in her bedroom. \u201cI learned by playing covers by myself in my room\u201d<\/em>, she says. \u201cElla didn\u2019t do that as much, but we sometimes played and sang together, country songs\u201d. <\/em>Eventually she would start writing her own. Ella wasn\u2019t involved originally (\u201cwe did play together a few times\u201d,<\/em> she says, \u201cand it just went to shit [laughs]. We fought a lot\u201d<\/em>), and Inez was originally reluctant: \u201cI was a bit unsure whether I wanted to be in a band with my sister. Because you get clumped together all the time, when you\u2019re twins\u201d<\/em>. But Ella was keen to join, and eventually persuaded Inez to let her join for a show. It went \u2013 so well that producer Tore Johansson (The Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand), saw it and asked if they\u2019d like to record with him. That changed things, says Ella: \u201cIt made us think there might be something in this music\u201d<\/em>. As a duo, 7ebra were in flight. \u201cIn the end, it\u2019s kind of a nice thing too [being sisters in a band]<\/em>\u201d, Inez says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t bother me anymore. It just made sense to play together<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the album that they eventually came up with, the talent that caught Johansson\u2019s eye is immediately obvious. Opener Secretly Bad<\/em> has a way of walking along your nerves, an eerie echo of a hymn in Inez\u2019s vocal backed by a swirl of woozy blend of guitars and organ. That\u2019s followed up by I Like To Pretend<\/em>, an easily charming song that has a sleepy brightness about it, like morning sunlight breaking through a window. They take a couple of different genres for a whirl on\u00a0\u2018Bird Hour\u2019\u00a0\u2013 they\u2019re tense and snappy on If I Ask Her<\/em>, breezy and cocky on Lighter Better<\/em>, and there\u2019s even a couple of droplets of blues and folk in the mix, in the raw intensity of the emotions in the slower songs, the vulnerability and aching of songs like Lean<\/em> and Stripey Horsey<\/em>. The record has a way of sweeping you along in its mood and tones, fuelled in part by the band\u2019s use of repetition, sometimes fast and fevered, sometimes crawling and hypnotic. The duo\u2019s musical input blends perfectly, with Inez\u2019s guitar and vocals forming the core, and Ella drawing in the detail with keys, organ, and harmonies, to really bring out the vivid nature of the songs. Indie rock that\u2019s melodic and sweet, but with enough shadow mixed in to make it really compelling. Watch the video for Lighter Better<\/em> via YouTube below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n