{"id":258611,"date":"2026-01-22T20:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/258611\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:58:09","slug":"sassy-009s-alt-pop-fever-dreams-come-to-fruition-at-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/258611\/","title":{"rendered":"Sassy 009\u2019s Alt-Pop Fever Dreams Come to Fruition At Last"},"content":{"rendered":"

FEATURES<\/a><\/p>\n

Sassy 009\u2019s Alt-Pop Fever Dreams Come to Fruition At Last<\/p>\n

By <\/p>\n

Harry Levin<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7
\n January 22, 2026<\/p>\n

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Sassy 009<\/a> doesn\u2019t dream of career achievements\u2014headlining tours<\/a>, collaborations with <\/a>Blood Orange<\/a>, an album of her own<\/a>\u2014the Oslo-based alt-pop artist, born Sunniva Lindg\u00e5rd, makes them her reality. She\u2019s not just a dreamer; she\u2019s the Dreamer+\u2014hence her debut album\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

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Lindg\u00e5rd 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\u2019s dreamy-yet-dastardly Do You Mind<\/a>;\u00a02019\u2019s heavy alt-dance EP, KILL SASSY 009<\/a>;\u00a0and 2021\u2019s pop-leaning mixtape Heart Ego<\/a>. \u201cIf I could guarantee that I\u2019m able to do this for more than one project at a time, that would give me a great level of comfort\u2014that is the dream,\u201d she explains over coffee during her first-ever visit to Los Angeles in November of 2025. \u201cI don\u2019t really have specific dreams other than wanting to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dreams play a central role in Lindg\u00e5rd\u2019s creative process. They\u2019re an invitation to embrace a surrealism that in turn feeds her fluid, often uncanny approach to the pop genre. \u201cIt\u2019s the same texture,\u201d she says, \u201cI\u2019m the only one who\u2019s realizing something is off.\u201d When she wakes up, that feeling stays with her. \u201cRemembering so many of my dreams puts me in a position in the morning [where I\u2019m] feeling quite disconnected to either world,\u201d says Lindg\u00e5rd. \u201cI was just in a dream; now I\u2019m in reality, but I\u2019m emotionally connected to the dream. It feels like an actual experience. It fuels creative desire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The path to Dreamer+, which Lindg\u00e5rd 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. \u201cI was constantly in this dissonance with myself. I never felt like it was finished,\u201d Lindg\u00e5rd 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: \u201cI would\u2019ve lost my mind if I didn\u2019t have those people around me\u2026 I was so lost in terms of figuring out what I can hold onto to measure this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s 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\u2019s narrative. The central character, who shares the artist\u2019s name, finds herself in a plane of existence outside of time and space where all her thoughts become reality, even the intrusive ones. Protagonist \u201cSunniva\u201d is sharing this plane with her true love when one of her intrusive thoughts causes his death.<\/p>\n

The rather morbid tale mirrors the sound of Dreamer+, which proves equally thrilling. \u201cMirrors\u201d explores ambient textures and drone vocal harmonies between Lindg\u00e5rd and dance-pop artist yun\u00e8 pinku, juxtaposed against scattered, minimalistic drums. The lead single, \u201cButterflies,\u201d is a blunt-force, technologically affected emo-rock song. On \u201cEnemy,\u201d she battles different impressions of herself with sonic weapons made from aggressive electronic music and doom metal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Certainly, Lindg\u00e5rd has never cared about her productions being palatable for everyone, which is part of the plan: \u201cOpposing my past self feels punk to me,\u201d she says. In fact, the higher her star rises, the more restless she gets. \u201cMy drive is towards renewing,\u201d Lindg\u00e5rd proclaims. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t necessarily say I\u2019ve found myself, but I can see my threads in a clearer perspective.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n