The latest single from Malmö-based indie-folk band Egentid, Better Man opens with a harmonica, atop a gentle foot-tap of a beat and strummed guitar. That rasping cry feels appropriate aged, for a song that is all about the experience of growing, but perhaps also just growing older.
Egentid, which tellingly translates into ‘alone time’ or, perhaps, ‘me time’, formed last year out of meet-ups between dads based around an open preschool (i.e. one where the parents stay) in Limhamn. The impact of parenthood hums through Egentid’s music, and Better Man in particular. Written from the perspective of a new parent, now past 40, it highlights the desire to grow and be better, and how that pursuit benefits the self, and those around you.
Better Man slowly builds towards a swirling chorus of overlapping falsetto vocals. The experience of what it means to be a man changes as you grow, and there is something of my experience wrapped up in the shifting experience of Egentid’s new single.
Better Man follows on from Egentid’s debut single, Call You Back, which was released back in on 6 March, and both come from Sail On, the band’s debut, out on 28 March.