Photos: GERD Releases Sophomore Album MORE WATER THAN ANYTHING
The album features collaborations with a Swedish choir and marks GERD's most personal work to date.
Swedish rising indie pop star GERD returns with her sophomore album More Water Than Anything, a poignant project reflecting on loneliness, closeness and the very human need to be held.
Following the release of her single 'Lonely Phone People,' an intimate ballad about craving real connection in a world full of distractions, the release gave a taste for GERD's powerful voice and melodramatic songwriting at the forefront, capturing the tension between wanting to retreat into silence and desperately needing someone close.
On More Water Than Anything, the music's drive and forward motion embody the way creative energy can overcome doubt. 'It's the most personal thing I've made. I haven't really dared to open that door before, and of course it's scary, but it's exciting too. It has also given the lyrics a different depth' says GERD.
Surrounded by forest, water and long nights on a secluded island in Värmland, GERD began experimenting with songs as her fascination with folklore and supernatural beings grew. Gradually, the surroundings - the forest, the silence, the sense of something moving at the edge of perception - left their mark on her inner world, shaping both the album's expression and its subject matter.
This can be heard in the album's focus track 'Love Economy,' where her inner self is given a voice and personified as something that cannot be controlled or reasoned away, but remains close by and makes its presence known. She explains, 'It's like standing face to face with the part of yourself you don't really want to see. The one breathing in your face, reminding you that she is on her way out.' 'Love Economy' moves freely between keys without pausing: 'I think I was a little tired of being told that you can't do this or that. If it works, it works. I wanted to let things be entirely themselves instead. For example, the song 'Truth To Be Told' is a little strange, but songs have to be allowed to be strange.'
This exploration of the unknown extends beyond the music itself. During the making of More Water Than Anything, GERD collaborated with a Swedish choir, whose members range in age from their 50s to their 90s. Their voices add an additional sense of history, humanity and otherworldliness to the body of work, connecting GERD's contemporary alt-pop sound with a timelessness. She also worked with a 16-year-old designer to create a series of striking masks for her costumes, representing her confrontation with darkness and her deepest fears.
'Crazy' is a track written with an audience in mind, dancing everything out of your system, the inspiration behind its structural shifts, intensity builds and what begins in a controlled place gradually moving towards something more unpredictable. Similarly, GERD's celestial presence in 'Louder and Louder' blends indie-pop with euphoric melodies and timeless songwriting, transcending listeners into an anthemic atmosphere.
'Hurts' captures one of the album's central emotional states. Reflective of the second you realise a relationship isn't going to last; you can feel the pain approaching and try to think it away, even as reality has already started to collapse beneath you. The track reveals the softer, more vulnerable side to GERD's artistry.
Emerging as one of Scandinavia's most distinctive new voices, having been opera-trained and being an artistically fearless artist, GERD has earned acclaim for her debut album Meet Me In The Blue, as well as UK press support for her single 'Truth Be Told.' GERD's blending of classical vocals with a modern alt-pop twist has earned her acclaim from tastemakers including Hunger Magazine, Wonderland and Clash, praising her ability to turn vulnerability into something intimate yet cinematic.
About GERD
GERD is a Swedish born artist known for her 'melancholic pop music.' Born in 1995 in Karlstad, Sweden, the award-winning artist was surrounded by the voices of influential artists such as Queen and Kate Bush. She decided to leave further education to pursue her music career and hasn't looked back since.
GERD released her debut single (premiered with Zane Lowe) 'Lies For A Liar' in 2021, followed by the acclaimed EP 'In It To Lose' and debut album 'Meet Me In The Blue' (2024) which subsequently put her on the map for contemporary indie-pop. Since then she has amassed international attention and support - including playlist placements on Apple Music in over 150 countries. AP3 Gold winner, GERD is praised by leading critics and known for euphoric, versatile live performances - from orchestral stages to intimate pop-up shows. Now signed to EMI Sweden, GERD began 2026 as she meant to go on, being selected as the EQUAL ambassador for Spotify in February 2026.
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