From the release of her self-titled EP in July last year, Åsa Söderqvist's murky, lo-fi experiments - think part garage band, part vintage rock, with a dash of Girl Group melodies buried under lashings of fuzz - as Shitkid have gained a steady following of fans drawn to her retro, stripped back songs. Having recorded her early material on a broken laptop while still learning GarageBand, the aesthetic she stumbled upon suits her well, and Fish, her debut album proper, continues the theme of solitary guitar lines winding around simple drumming and her raw, distinctive vocals.

She may well tackle, drinking, sex, love, and relationships in her songs, but rarely has a debut sounded so much fun; there's a charm and defiant "fuck it" attitude running through all nine tracks here that sucks you into her crazy, whirlwind life. So sit back, buckle up, and let Shitkid take you for a hell of a ride.

Never Seen A Girl

We had been playing this song live for half a year when I realised my band, my boyfriend, and all my friends thought it was me saying"_There's no girl like me." It’s actually the complete opposite. It feels as if partners sometimes like you being ”crazy” just because you are together, but if you weren’t they’d just think you were insane. This is actually the first ever recording of the song, recorded live with no existing lyrics and then mixed by Simon Skeleton.

Sugar Town

I wrote ’Sugar Town’ and ‘Alright' when I stayed with my Mom before going travelling in Asia. I’d just been signed and had my first gig lined up for when I got back so I needed something that was a little more rock n roll. I guess this is a bit anti-religion - mocking the ‘Lord.’ I remember being a kid and wondering why he wasn't punishing me. 'Sugar Town' by Nancy Sinatra is one of my favourite songs. I guess in this case "sugar town" means "hell" but maybe hell feels like heaven/sugar town. Or.. If there is a God he's treating me well even tho I set fire to a dog.

Alright

This is about feeling weird with your partner and he's texting you a lot but it’s just not right. I'm the boy too sometimes, but mostly I'm the one trying to find the answers and it's tiring. It can make you feel really crazy and dramatic.

Two Motorbikes

This one is about motorbike-taxis in Southeast Asia where I spent two months either alone or with a guy. It's about holiday romance and how you have to relinquish any fear of dying while there. When you say yes to helmetless and reckless motorbike rides through crowded Bangkok traffic thinking "Oh well, better to burn out."

Tropics

My absolute favorite song of my own. It's about being in South East Asia again and how I was a mess there. I got sick, burnt in the sun, had fish eat the dead skin on my feet etc. On reflection I loved that trip, but whilst I was there I just wanted to come home to a certain someone and feel safe.

On A Saturday Night At Home

I wrote this song so long ago. Maybe before anything else was released… it's about missing watching music videos on MTV when you’re ”bored” cause that was never ever boring. The only nice entertainment there ever was on TV. And that was all I did after school when I was like.. twelve or whenever that was. So it's about being home bored and stoned, dreaming about that.

Likagurl

Inspired by The 5.6.7.8’s 'Woo Hoo' I wanted to have a song that was just 'la la' or something. I guess I'm mocking people mocking female voices...?

Fish At Sea, Right?

This one was done the same night as 'Fat-Mad-N-Gone' and is about drinking fizzy wine and not worrying about people thinking you're "lost" when you yourself feel I.N.C - which means "in control" in this one. There's just too many people in the world (and sea) to compare yourself to and in the end, you just sort of stay the same anyway. I mean.. drinking is usually (always?) a method of letting go of that for a few hours. To be honest, the only important thing about this song is the guitar.

Getting Mad

A more chilled song I thought I made exclusively for Sarah Klang's release party which was inside a tiny store. I made this song about getting too drunk and not realising it even though your friends tell you, and then hiding under your covers feeling like you might die of shame. I decided to use it on the album because it turned out so fucking good, and so the first and last song of this album would fit together just like 'Poop 1' and 'Poop 2' did in my self-titled EP.

Fish is out on the 2 June via PNKSLM Recordings. For more information, please click here.

Photo credit: Arvid Sjoo