The Swedish trio combine a collaborative musical foundation with an increasingly electronic approach on their second album, Wither Without.
For listeners drawn to independent pop that leaves room for experimentation, Akaba offer an appealing combination of songwriting focus and studio curiosity. The Swedish trio’s second album, Wither Without, builds on the foundation of their debut while widening the range of sounds used to frame their songs.
The group consists of Åsa Carild, Tobias Ljungkvist and Mattias Olsson. Carild is the singer-songwriter, Ljungkvist contributes guitars and other instrumental parts, and Olsson combines drumming with production duties.
That collaborative structure gives the project several points of entry. The writing has a consistent authorial voice, but the music is a shared undertaking. The production, meanwhile, provides another dimension to the trio’s identity, particularly as the band moves further into electronic territory.
Their debut, The Rust Within, was associated with warm analogue textures. Wither Without broadens that approach through layered synthesisers and programmed rhythms, while retaining the melodic orientation that underpins Akaba’s work. The change offers a useful introduction to a band interested in development rather than simply reproducing the formula of an earlier release.
The album also has a clearly defined lyrical perspective. Across nine songs, Carild explores the breakdown of a relationship and its emotional aftermath. Attempts to repair the damage sit alongside regret, grief and the difficulty of accepting that circumstances have changed. The writing also allows for the possibility of a future beyond that experience, without presenting it as an easy or immediate resolution.
For a band working with emotionally direct material, the production choices provide an additional creative dimension. Electronic elements can expand the space around a song, introduce rhythmic detail and alter the balance between intimacy and scale. Akaba’s move in this direction gives the album an identity that extends beyond the subject matter of its lyrics.
The members also bring varied musical histories to the project. Carild previously worked with Pineforest Crunch, Ljungkvist played with Reminder, and Olsson is known for his involvement with Änglagård and other projects. Those backgrounds help place Akaba within a broader independent music culture, where musicians often bring experience from different scenes into a shared project.
The trio have already taken their debut on the road in the US, Canada and the UK. That touring history provides a foundation for introducing the new album to listeners beyond Sweden, while the shift in sound gives returning audiences something new to explore.
With Wither Without, Akaba present a project built around the meeting of melody, personal writing and a more electronically shaped production style. The album’s appeal is not confined to one narrow category: it brings together the immediacy of song-based music and an interest in how studio choices can broaden its possibilities. For anyone exploring independent acts that continue to refine their sound between releases, Akaba are worth discovering.
FOLLOW AKABA:
