Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt started off as childhood friends, but are now making a name for themselves in the world of Scandi-pop. Operating as Smerz, a name taken from the term ‘herzschmerz’ which is German for heartbreak, the duo have broken out of northern Europe and are now showcasing their talent to the wider world.
Their debut album Believer was released on XL Recordings; its follow-up Big city life was awarded Pitchfork’s highly prestigious Best New Music status, with a score of 8.6 out of ten. The latter is a strikingly cohesive body of quintessential trip-hop that warrants an instant replay and manages to balance melancholy with a sense of hopefulness which transferred seamlessly into their live show.
Promptly on time, Stoltenberg and Motzfeldt waltzed on stage with glasses of wine in hand, beginning their set with Big city life tracks ‘But I do’, ‘Imagine this’, and the 26-second piano interlude ‘What’. During the first songs, Stoltenberg and Motzfeldt continually looked at each other with whimsy in their eyes: their connection was instantly evident, and this persisted throughout the night. Looking away from her bandmate for a short second, Stoltenberg stated “good evening Manchester, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the Big city life experience”, before the duo launched into the record’s opener and title track.
‘Feisty’ is the fastest a Smerz set will get, and its bassline was significantly elevated in a live setting. The song narrates a night out full of friendship, romance, Tinder matches, and “the art school gang”: the essential Big city life experience, which ends with the duo “confused and alone”, lost amongst the crowd. Continuing the album’s tracklist order, the band’s bassist took to a keyboard for ‘A thousand lies’, while their drummer mixed traditional percussion with an electronic pad, and sometimes solely and softly tapped his fingers on the cymbals. This accentuated the show’s melancholy effect, and testified to the multi-instrumental capabilities of each member of Smerz.
The duo followed with ‘Big dreams’, which combines emotional sincerity in lines such as “I don’t know how to go without you” with crude and jocular “dream[s] of a big dick”. ‘Easy’ came next, which comically asked “have I said too much?”, and judging by the looks from Smerz’s enraptured audience, the answer was a resounding no. ‘Street style’ continued the set in a contemplative manner, reaching almost existential interiority as Motzfeldt tenderly hummed behind Stoltenberg’s observation that “the city felt so wide” and admission that “I want something huge to hit me”. Inviting the crowd to “feel the music”, ‘Roll the dice’ brought its jolting piano riff and dissonant breakbeat; it’s a highlight in the duo’s discography, and accordingly a highlight in their setlist.
While Smerz have a large catalogue of material dating back to 2016, the focus of their live set stayed on Big city life, in line with the album’s cohesive nature. The hypnotic vocal loop and Scandi verses of ‘Dreams’ kept the audience in their reverie long enough for the band to lead into their closer, with Stoltenberg pausing before ‘You got time and I got money’ to say, simply, “this is the end of our show, but the beginning of your life”. As Big city life’s semi-viral second single, this was the obvious choice to bring the set to a close, and its lyrics were recited word-for-word by rows of fans, gazing up in awe and teary adoration.
Beyond the relatively palatable, Clairo-esque dream pop of ‘You got time and I got money’, Smerz are admittedly a hard act to get your head around. Once you delve into their flickers, glitches, and glimmers, the result is highly rewarding: the duo are truly unparalleled, and no other artist has been able to encompass both the mundanity and simple beauty of everyday life in the way they have. Their live show is spellbinding, and as heart-wrenching as their name suggests, but in a way that feels healing. With music so sparse, every note is bound to be deliberate, and as a result Smerz have constructed a world of their own.
