Sassy 009’s Alt-Pop Fever Dreams Come to Fruition At Last
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January 22, 2026
Sassy 009 doesn’t dream of career achievements—headlining tours, collaborations with Blood Orange, an album of her own—the Oslo-based alt-pop artist, born Sunniva Lindgård, makes them her reality. She’s not just a dreamer; she’s the Dreamer+—hence her debut album’s name.
Lindgård started recording as Sassy 009 with no intention other than pure creation. It was 2010, she was 15, and she was simply uploading solo tracks to SoundCloud. By 2021, she had three EPs under her belt: 2017’s dreamy-yet-dastardly Do You Mind; 2019’s heavy alt-dance EP, KILL SASSY 009; and 2021’s pop-leaning mixtape Heart Ego. “If I could guarantee that I’m able to do this for more than one project at a time, that would give me a great level of comfort—that is the dream,” she explains over coffee during her first-ever visit to Los Angeles in November of 2025. “I don’t really have specific dreams other than wanting to do this.”
Dreams play a central role in Lindgård’s creative process. They’re an invitation to embrace a surrealism that in turn feeds her fluid, often uncanny approach to the pop genre. “It’s the same texture,” she says, “I’m the only one who’s realizing something is off.” When she wakes up, that feeling stays with her. “Remembering so many of my dreams puts me in a position in the morning [where I’m] feeling quite disconnected to either world,” says Lindgård. “I was just in a dream; now I’m in reality, but I’m emotionally connected to the dream. It feels like an actual experience. It fuels creative desire.”
The path to Dreamer+, which Lindgård self-produced, entailed four years of grueling uncertainty. Plus, the prospect of finally releasing her debut album brought a kind of pressure she had never experienced before. “I was constantly in this dissonance with myself. I never felt like it was finished,” Lindgård admits. It was only after she brought in her manager and close friends, who forced her to finalize the recordings, that she was actually able to step away: “I would’ve lost my mind if I didn’t have those people around me… I was so lost in terms of figuring out what I can hold onto to measure this process.”
One foothold throughout her creative journey with the album was a Silent Hill 2-esque horror story she had been ideating since before Dreamer+. While she’s writing it now (it may become a card game or a video game), all the songs, videos, and other visuals on the album reflect fragments and constellations drawn from the story’s narrative. The central character, who shares the artist’s name, finds herself in a plane of existence outside of time and space where all her thoughts become reality, even the intrusive ones. Protagonist “Sunniva” is sharing this plane with her true love when one of her intrusive thoughts causes his death.
The rather morbid tale mirrors the sound of Dreamer+, which proves equally thrilling. “Mirrors” explores ambient textures and drone vocal harmonies between Lindgård and dance-pop artist yunè pinku, juxtaposed against scattered, minimalistic drums. The lead single, “Butterflies,” is a blunt-force, technologically affected emo-rock song. On “Enemy,” she battles different impressions of herself with sonic weapons made from aggressive electronic music and doom metal.
Certainly, Lindgård has never cared about her productions being palatable for everyone, which is part of the plan: “Opposing my past self feels punk to me,” she says. In fact, the higher her star rises, the more restless she gets. “My drive is towards renewing,” Lindgård proclaims. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve found myself, but I can see my threads in a clearer perspective.”