Between classes at a Stockholm university, Clutter’s Hilda Ander sits in a sunlit corridor, contemplating the band’s swift transformation from bedroom recordings to indie-rock’s latest compelling export. The timing feels charged with possibility — spring has finally descended on the Swedish capital, matching the band’s ascending trajectory.
“Things are good!” Ander enthuses. “I’ve got an hour to kill at university, so the timing is perfect. Seeing Emma later this evening to work on some exciting stuff. We’re feeling hopeful.”
That optimism is well-earned. Clutter – comprised of Ander, Emma French, Ove Jerndal, and Ville Scott – have just wrapped up a UK tour supporting Spanish garage rock darlings Hinds, an experience that left them with both professional insights and a newfound appreciation for British supermarket staples. “The meal deals were our favourite!” Ander recalls with genuine enthusiasm. “We tried a lot of different British food, but we’ve all been missing the meal deal sandwiches since leaving. Also really enjoyed Ribena and the Yorkie chocolate bar.”
The tour marked a significant milestone in their rapid ascent, with Glasgow emerging as a particular highlight. “The venue was really beautiful, and I remember that day as one of the best,” Ander reflects. For a band still finding their footing in the international music scene, these moments of connection and discovery have proven invaluable.
“It was very exciting and a bit nerve-wracking. It was all of our first time travelling around the UK, so everything was new,” Ander admits. “Hinds were so nice, real professionals, so meeting them was very exciting. We’re very grateful for the opportunity to do something like this together: travelling as a band was very fun, and we learnt a lot.”
The path to those professional stages began in decidedly humbler circumstances. Their first recordings, including the nostalgic fuzz-bomb ‘Kraut’, were laid down in Jerndal’s childhood bedroom back in 2022. That DIY ethos still forms the backbone of their sound – a gloriously messy collision of grunge dynamics, post-hardcore energy, and indie punk spirit that draws as much from the pages of Our Band Could Be Your Life as it does from their contemporary peers.
Music has been a constant thread throughout their lives. “All of us have grown up with music around us and have been playing for a long time,” Ander explains. “Ove and Ville played in a band together previously, when they were like 15. I also had a band when I was about 12 years old.”
The band’s creative dynamic sees Ander and French trading off guitar, bass, and vocal duties while Jerndal handles guitar and production, and Scott holds down the drums. “But we write all of our songs together as a group,” Ander emphasises.
Their debut EP ‘Loves You’, out through PNKSLM Recordings, serves as both a mission statement and a time capsule. “When we started sending the songs around, we were planning to stop focusing on music. We were all starting university, and the band hadn’t really gone anywhere,” Ander reveals. “So then we recorded our songs and were going to release them ourselves as a kind of goodbye or a time capsule of what Clutter had been.”
The recording process itself mirrors the band’s evolution. “We worked on it very sporadically,” Ander explains. “We recorded ‘Kraut’ in Ove’s childhood bedroom in 2022, I think, and ‘Geeks’, we recorded in the fall of 2024 in an actual studio. So it really differs from song to song.”
That farewell release transformed into a new beginning when labels began responding enthusiastically to the recordings. “Just a compliment made us wanna continue the band, haha,” Ander says. The resulting EP spans the band’s evolution, from those earliest bedroom recordings to more recent studio sessions. “It’s really a time capsule of Clutter’s first years, of us as teenagers. It’s nostalgic and naive and very honest.”
The songwriting process is equally democratic, with Ander and French approaching lyrics from complementary angles. “Me and Emma usually take turns writing lyrics and I think we approach it differently,” Ander explains. “This EP has come very naturally. I’ve mostly written about myself, and many of the texts are older. Emma also has some older lyrics on the EP, but she tends to write more like a story; she has a narrative and often writes from a character perspective.”
Their creative ambitions continue to evolve. “Now, when we’ve started writing new stuff, everything is more intentional,” Ander shares. “I really want to write more about feminist themes? And also write more playfully nonsense texts. I don’t know! I think we’re still finding our styles but are very excited to experiment with different themes and ways of writing.”
Their live shows have already earned them some memorable comparisons. “Someone at a show once said our gig felt like Scott Pilgrim vs the world; that was a great compliment based solely on the live show, so that was very exciting cause we’re big fans of Sex-Bob-Omb,” Ander shares.
The band’s journey has been marked by surreal moments of validation. “Our first show in London might be a highlight,” Ander recalls. “It felt so huge, and even though the gig was a bit wonky, ’cause we were so nervous, it felt so crazy and exciting to play in front of strangers on Shacklewell Arms. Signing to PNKSLM is also a highlight, it felt so big, we were so giddy afterwards.”
Looking ahead, the band is balancing university studies with an increasingly busy musical schedule. “Right now, planning our release gigs takes up a lot of time,” Ander notes. “We’re practising and writing new stuff while planning out one release in Stockholm and one in London.” With a new booking agent in place, European dates are on the horizon, suggesting Clutter’s trajectory is pointing firmly upward.
Between the music, the band members pursue diverse interests. “Well, we’re all into video games and movies/TV,” Ander shares. “Me and Emma run a poetry magazine as well we’re working on now; we like going on walks and going out. DJ-ing. Ove is a bit sporty, and Ville is really into building/modifying guitars right now.”
As spring unfolds in Stockholm and ‘Loves You’ prepares to meet the world, what began as a farewell note has transformed into a thrilling opening chapter. The naive honesty of those bedroom recordings has evolved into something bigger, but no less authentic – proof that sometimes the best art comes from simply documenting who and where you are, rather than trying to be something you’re not.
Clutter’s EP ‘Loves You’ is out now.
Leave a Reply