Listening to the ghostly and yet often often joyful sounds of Small Feet, i… Read Full Bio ↴Listening to the ghostly and yet often often joyful sounds of Small Feet, it’s hard to believe that the man behind the band, Stockholm based Simon Stålhamrhe, was, as a youngster, a prodigious player of sports. With his delicate, keening voice, and his bewitching, beseeching songs – songs of ecstatic rapture, songs of doleful sorrow, each so graceful and frail that they sound as though they’re held together by spider’s silk – the thought of him as an athlete seems somehow absurd. And yet, whether it was football, tennis, hockey or even ping pong, Stålhamrhe delighted in – as he puts it – “chasing objects around and bending them to my will”. The problem was that, when things became competitive, he struggled to participate. If the odds became too steep, Stålhamrhe buckled under pressure.

For many years, this was true too of the music he made. Happy though he was to record the songs that he’d started writing by the time he reached his teens, he discovered that sharing them was simply too intimidating. A six track EP and an album, which he went so far as to master, remained unheard by the world at large, stacked up with hundreds of demos in a closet at his parents’ home. When he started bands with others – occasionally reaching the point where they could perform in public, sometimes even building up a significant buzz in so doing – he’d soon abandon the projects, dissatisfied with his performances, convinced that something better lay ahead, just out of reach. He still seemed content chasing objects around, in other words, but the idea of stepping into the public arena, where he might fail, was one he couldn’t contemplate.

Two years ago, something changed. With one childhood suicide attempt already behind him, as well as recurring bouts of depression, he “crashed completely”, he admits. For the first time in his life he was forced to seek help, undertaking therapy to address the issues behind his problems. Support came simultaneously from an entirely different and unexpected source in the shape of another Stockholm based musician, ex-pat American Jacob Snavely, with whom he shared friends. Their admiration for each other’s music soon became equally mutual.

For some time, Stålhamrhe had been drifting: working in cafés, flyposting, nursing a victim of cerebral palsy. Snavely persuaded him that his music deserved an audience, helping him find work with other bands, including Rebekka Karijord’s, while encouraging him to pursue his own creativity more thoroughly. “We formally refer to this as ‘Jacob’s days of blowing smoke up Simon’s ass’”, Stålhamrhe smiles. Whatever it was, it worked: Stålhamrhe’s health slowly recovered, and after Stålhamrhe unlocked his vaults to allow Snavely to explore his work in more depth, Snavely introduced him to Christopher Cantillo, who turned out to be, Stålhamrhe states admiringly, “maybe the best musician I’ve ever played with”.

While the musical chemistry was immediately apparent, it took a little time for the three of them to find a suitable working method, with Stålhamrhe struggling to let go of his songs unless he handed over responsibility entirely. Once they’d found their way, however, the music poured forth. Having first picked up an electric guitar as a child at school – “I don´t know if you can appreciate how cool that felt to a nine year old!” Stålhamrhe grins – and having written his first song, ‘Don’t Smoke In My House’, aged eleven, the one constant in his life suddenly, finally, became his priority. “It’s so much fun taking my songs to these two and just piecing everything together,” he beams.

Snavely modestly insists that he and Cantillo “just add energy, slight arrangements, and stuff like that”, but the music he and Cantillo coaxed out of their new friend is worth the time it took to ripen. Undeniably influenced by Stålhamrhe’s love of Neil Young, and seeped in a naivety reminiscent of Daniel Johnston, it’s deceptively simple, both lyrically and musically, with the rawness and honesty of the trio’s performances retained by the lo-fi production techniques employed. Admittedly, these were imposed upon them by finances – “I’d love to go into an expensive studio and work with Kanye West to see what kind of results we could get there!” Stålhamrhe laughs – but they lend the recordings a haunting aesthetic, an identity both familiar and otherworldly.

Suitably, the first fruits of their work, the Liar Behind The Sun EP, arrive on the illustrious Kning Disk label in both 7” vinyl and cassette formats, a nod to their evocatively timeless atmospheres. The title track is a perfect introduction to Small Feet, a rough and ready tumble through country fields, its melody enduring despite the song’s brevity, and it’s followed in the autumn by a long awaited debut full length, From Far Enough Away, Everything Sounds Like The Ocean. Both collections showcase the overdue arrival of a formidable songwriting talent, something highlighted by the likes of ‘All And Everyone’, its tone set by a cheerful postman’s whistle, and ‘Palm Trees’, as lonesome as the moon in a devastated wasteland. Also in Small Feet’s armoury are the playful yet gruesome nightmares of ‘Monsters’, the concisely poignant ‘Hymn’, the charming, harmony-laden simplicity of ‘Smoke And Rivers’, the Appalachian echoes of ‘Rivers’ (recorded on an iPhone) and the deeply personal, regret-soaked ‘And Repeat’. The latter, surely one of the most affecting songs ever written, ought to find itself ranked alongside work by many of Stålhamrhe’s musical heroes, including Red House Painters, Conor Oberst, Bill Callahan, Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen, whose dark humour is often evident in songs like ‘Here’s To Violence’ and ‘One At The Helm’.

The son of a kindergarten teacher and police officer, Stålhamrhe’s nonetheless walked a rocky, troubled path to find his Small Feet, but his athletic enthusiasm has at last been applied to the thing that he’s loved most ever since he first picked up that guitar at school. “I´m ready to do this now,” he concludes. “I’m done fighting my windmills.” He’s prepared for the challenge, and the crowds will surely find him. They’ve already waited too long…

Rivers
Small Feet Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What kind of film
Plays in your mind
What finds you in
What finds you out
I look for your ghost
Almost every night
I make up little signs
That say you are alright

It pours all downstream
And falls at the mouth
It runs all out again
And comes back around

Love has a purpose
Love goes around
Easy to cast so hard to hold
I followed your footsteps
Out onto the sand
And they end at the part
Where water rush on the land
The way we created sometimes at least

It still finds me here
And it offers no peace

Overall Meaning

The song "Rivers" by Small Feet can be interpreted in various ways but primarily talks about the aftermath of a failed relationship. The singer is reminiscing about the past and wondering how his partner is fairing without him. One can sense a feeling of longing and regret through the lyrics. The first few lines talk about the memories that keep playing on the mind, like a movie that never ends, almost tormenting the singer with thoughts of the past, and bringing him/her back to the same place of hurt every time.

As the song progresses, the focus shifts from the individual to the bigger picture of love itself, with the singer making statements about how love comes and goes and that it's easier to fall in love than to make it work. He then moves on to describe how he followed the footsteps of his partner on the sandy beach and was overwhelmed with emotions as the steps led him to the point where the water touched the shore. He then goes on to say that despite the good times, he is still haunted by the end that they reached.

The chorus of the song is where the essence lies - the imagery of the river is used as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of love. It continuously flows downstream and comes back around, much like love that never really leaves, it just takes different forms over time. The central theme seems to be the idea that even though love can be painful, and the aftermath can cause emotional turmoil, it is still worth it to keep putting oneself out there and to keep trying.

Line by Line Meaning

What kind of film
Small Feet is asking about the type of vivid imagination that occupies the listener's mind.

Plays in your mind
The artist is curious about the specific thoughts that are recurring in the listener's thoughts.

What finds you in
Small Feet is asking the listener what leads them to get absorbed in their thoughts and reflection.

What finds you out
The artist wants to know what forces the listener to face and resolve their problems and worries.

I look for your ghost
The artist is still searching for the spirit and presence of the person they used to love.

Almost every night
Small Feet is tormented by thoughts of the person they once loved almost every single night.

I make up little signs
The artist attempts to convince themselves that the person they loved is doing well by composing 'little signs' that suggest this.

That say you are alright
Small Feet is trying to reassure themselves with made-up affirmations that their loved one is doing fine.

It pours all downstream
The water - like life - flows downstream, taking everything with it as it goes.

And falls at the mouth
The water meets the river's mouth and mixes with the ocean, only to be taken up again by the clouds and eventually rained down somewhere else.

It runs all out again
The cycle of life and water continues, with the same water eventually flowing out again elsewhere.

And comes back around
The water returns to its initial spot, perhaps as time endlessly loops.

Love has a purpose
The artist asserts that love is not aimless but has a specific and vital role to play.

Love goes around
Love moves about and takes unexpected paths, like the water cycle the artist previously mentioned.

Easy to cast so hard to hold
Small Feet explains that while it's simple to fall in love, it is difficult to preserve and maintain romantic relationships.

I followed your footsteps
The artist recalls fondly and nostalgically retracing the steps of the person they once loved.

Out onto the sand
Small Feet conducted this 'footstep-following' exercise on the beach.

And they end at the part
Soon, though, the artist's trail is interrupted by the water's edge.

Where water rush on the land
The water is beating against the shore.

The way we created sometimes at least
Small Feet thinks back affectionately on how they and their former love created something special and strong, or at least partly so.

It still finds me here
The past and feelings for their ex still catch up with Small Feet even now.

And it offers no peace
These lingering emotions are still causing pain and discomfort for the artist even now.

Contributed by Charlotte Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS