At a glance
- From: Malmö, Sweden
- Released: 25 September 2026, on the Stockholm label PNKSLM
- Length: 12 songs, 38 minutes
- Language: English
- For fans of: Wet Leg, The Breeders, Alvvays
Imagine a band with two people, one guitar and one keyboard. Now imagine that one of them plays the drum samples with her feet. On stage, that is how 7ebra works.
7ebra are Inez and Ella Johansson, twin sisters from Malmö. Inez sings and plays guitar. Ella plays keys and the drum machine. They both sing, and neither of them is the lead voice: the two lines move around each other.
How To Land a Plane is their second album. The title describes life in your late twenties. You are flying the plane, everyone expects you to know the controls, and nobody gave you the manual. The songs talk about money worries, shame after a long night out, buying things you do not need, and the strange feeling that you are still 15 inside.
It is funny and sad at the same time. Inez wrote “Lime Green Jello” while she worked at a cemetery, pulling up weeds, cleaning gravestones and thinking too much. “Night Smog” mixes the TV series Severance with a mysterious pharmaceutical laboratory near their home.
The sound is bigger than on their first album, with more distorted guitars, buzzing synths and stronger drums. One honest limit: on the loudest songs, the voices sink into the mix and you lose some words. With lyrics this good, that is a pity. But the album is short and easy to play again, and the words come back on the second listen.
Their first album, Bird Hour (2023), was produced by Tore Johansson, known for his work with The Cardigans and on Franz Ferdinand’s first album. He had stopped producing, but after seeing 7ebra live he decided to work with them. This time the producer is Jens Lindgård, and the album was recorded at Gula Studion in Malmö.
Where to start
Start with “15 With Me”. It lasts just over two minutes, with a synth that grows and grows until the end. It is about how the things you felt about your body at 15 do not disappear when you are an adult. Then go back to the first song, “Magical Thinking”, which connects the quiet sound of their first album with the louder new one.
If you like this, try these from Europe
- Wet Leg 🇬🇧: a duo from the Isle of Wight with the same mix of jokes and sadness, and the same calm, dry voice.
- Pom Poko 🇳🇴: a Norwegian band of trained jazz musicians who use that skill to make wild, joyful noise pop.
- First Aid Kit 🇸🇪: another pair of Swedish sisters, Klara and Johanna Söderberg. Their music is folk and much softer, but you will recognise the magic of two sisters singing together.
Where to find it in Europe
- Buy it from the band: on Bandcamp, the digital album costs €9, the CD €11.99 and the vinyl €26.99. It is the most direct way to support the band and their small independent label.
- Stream it: the album is on Qobuz and Deezer, two French services.
- Vinyl in shops: independent record shops in the UK, such as Crash Records in Leeds, already list it. In other countries, ask your local record shop to order it from PNKSLM.
- See them live: Stockholm (Kollektivet Livet, 9 October), London (The Shacklewell Arms, 21 October), Berlin (Schokoladen, 18 November), Nyon in Switzerland (La Parenthèse, 26 November) and Venlo in the Netherlands (De Donkere Dagen festival, 28 November).
The European context
Malmö has a long history in indie pop. In the 1990s, The Cardigans recorded their first three albums at Tambourine Studios in Malmö, with the same Tore Johansson who produced 7ebra’s first album. Their label, PNKSLM, is a small independent label founded in Stockholm in 2013. Choosing a record like this one keeps that kind of label alive.
Watch the video for “15 With Me”: https://youtu.be/nPo0m1ox7lI
Listen to the album: https://7ebra.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-land-a-plane
Also on Choosing Europe
- Music: How Have You Been? · Giant Rooks 🇩🇪: five friends from a small German city who reached the top of the German charts.
- Music: Samen Tegen Elkaar · Goldband 🇳🇱: more European pop with hooks that stay in your head.
