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Sweden’s Isolated Youth Return With Chilling Post-Punk Anthem “Love Locked In Dark Room”

Isolation wraps itself around the soul like a maze with no exit sign, its walls pressing closer with every breath. There’s no grand scheme, no map marked with a dotted line to freedom—just the aching need to flee. The mind becomes both prison and prisoner, every thought ricocheting off the same unyielding barriers. Escape isn’t calculated; it’s raw instinct, a desperate urge to shed the suffocating skin of circumstance. The future beyond the confines is a blank slate, undefined and unknown, but even that uncertainty hums with the promise of something—anything—better than the relentless weight of here and now.

Armed with the verse of poet Tomas Tranströmer, Sweden’s post-punk sparkplugs Isolated Youth wring out the the very last drop of pathos from Love Locked In Dark Room, kindling excitement for their debut album miserere mei (due April 4th via Birthday Productions and Memorials Of Distinction). Co-producer Faris Badwan (The Horrors) first caught wind of this brooding gem during a live-streamed show at Norrtälje Art Center.
Love Locked In Dark Room is a pop tune cloaked in a bluesy, guitar-heavy nighttime vibe, driven by William Mårdbarg’s jangly Iggy-and-the-Stooges riffs, then plunging headlong into a swirling chorus led by Axel Mårdbarg’s goosebump-raising vocals. The interplay between the brothers stirs a tension, like a silent storm stewing on the horizon. The guitars growl, the drums drone with anxious undertones, a glow of promise seeps through the gloom. Despite the unsettling hush, each chord suggests tomorrow’s dawn.
The track teeters between dread and deliverance, leaving hearts throbbing with expectation and minds braced for hope. The rugged coast of their homeland seeps through every note like a chill wind off the Baltic. Imagine Skying-era Horrors colliding with Radiohead, Muse, Sigur Rós, and Divine Comedy—an unlikely medley of electric impulses.
Isolated Youth’s William Mårdbarg has said of the single, “Being out on a ‘cold, dark, violent night’ and, to some extent, feeling trapped in nightly environments without an escape plan. Or perhaps like being underwater and looking up to the surface, finding someone else in this setting, and suddenly realising later the same night that there’s something bright and pure that cuts through the noise and brings you back above the surface. Then, everything else that happened feels like a nightmarish, strange dream, and in that moment, realising that you don’t want the other person to leave… Like love locked in a dark room.”
Listen to “Love Locked in a Dark Room” below:

Formed by brothers William and Axel Mardberg in the remote, coastal Swedish town of Norrtälje, Isolated Youth has fast become a force in the subterranean goth scene. Joined by drummer Andreas Geidemark and bassist Elmer Hallsby, this band is known for cranking up the atmosphere at their shows, transforming any space—from snug clubs to sprawling festival fields—into a buzzing hive of ghostly vibes. Isolated Youth is not shy about mixing it up, blending fierce innovation with intense energy, haunting melodies, and ferocious hooks. Their music skips across genres with the grace of a ballet dancer in a mosh pit.

Faris Badwan was instantly enthralled by their offbeat mixture of post-punk bite and raw emotion, adopting the role that William calls “a lovely, weird gothic uncle we never knew we had.” Acting as both producer and mentor, Badwan’s guidance broadens Isolated Youth’s bold blueprint.

Their album’s title, miserere mei (Have Mercy On Me) reflects the hardships they faced in the studio—health troubles, pandemic woes, travel tangles, and personal trauma. Yet their shared strength shines, binding members together in resilience. Isolated Youth mixes the night’s weight with the day’s daring, turning trial into triumph. Pounding beats, slinking bass, and ether-kissed vocals carve their spirited path. That unyielding bond, born of struggle, fuels a feeling of camaraderie, suggesting hope lurks in the loneliest corners. One can practically hear them laughing in the face of adversity, proving that, even in darkness, light sometimes finds a way.

Music takes no prisoners.

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Alice Teeple is a photographer, multidisciplinary artist, and writer. She is not in Tin Machine.

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