Swedish-American singer/songwriter Julia Logan captures love’s exhilarating highs and the bittersweet pull of remembrance on “Tidal Wave,” a lush, breezy folk pop reverie celebrating the people who make us feel fearless and the beautiful moments we wish could last forever.

Stream: “Tidal Wave” – Julia Logan

Love is one hell of a wave to ride.

It sends your pulse racing, your worries drifting, and your imagination running wild with all the possibilities of forever. One minute you’re floating on top of the world, convinced the sun will never set; the next, you’re looking back on those golden days, wishing you could dive in and live them all over again.

Singer/songwriter Julia Logan catches this exhilarating swell and bittersweet aftermath on “Tidal Wave,” a lush, dreamy folk pop reverie about the people who sweep us off our feet and stay with us long after the tide rolls out. Her smoldering, silken vocals glide over an easy, rolling groove, carrying us through sun-soaked memories of romance, adventure, and the beautiful rush of being with someone who makes the whole world seem brighter.

It’s a sweetly nostalgic song for anyone who’s ever wished they could bottle up a beautiful moment and keep it forever: A celebration of love’s intoxicating highs and the memories that bring us back to the people we never quite stop missing.

You gave me something
That I can really lean on
Saw you coming
Through that tidal wave

Eerie teardrops
Keep drawing you down south
Don’t look backwards
You’ll fall straight in

Tidal wave
I’ll miss you forever and ever

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Tidal Wave,” the enchanting lead single from Julia Logan’s forthcoming third studio album. Set for release this Friday, November 13, the song marks an exciting new chapter for the Swedish-American singer/songwriter, whose music has long held a special place in our hearts. Raised on Dalarö, a small island in the Stockholm archipelago, and shaped by her teenage years in Southern California, Logan grew up with one foot in two worlds. She began singing in her local church choir, picked up the guitar at 13, and developed a deep appreciation for the timeless songwriting of artists like Carole King, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell – influences that continue to color her music today.

Logan’s journey as a recording artist began with 2022’s Everly Foreverly, a captivating debut that featured a duet with The Cardigans’ Nina Persson. She followed it with 2024’s Faraway Nearby, an introspective, richly textured sophomore album made alongside longtime collaborator and producer Daniel Bengtson. Exploring isolation, personal upheaval, and the search for connection in an increasingly fractured world, the expansive and unfiltered record found Logan broadening her musical palette while digging deeper into the complicated emotions that shape our lives.

Atwood Magazine previously praised Faraway Nearby as a study in contrasts – distance and closeness, solitude and connection, melancholy and hope. “It’s a record of connection within and without, trying to make sense of a world in disarray, and finding one’s voice – and footing – in a sea of constant churn, chaos, and change,” we wrote at the time.

Those contrasts remain central to Logan’s artistry, but the music surrounding them has taken on a different character.

Having embraced a life split between Sweden and California, the singer/songwriter is reconnecting with her West Coast roots and the folk and Americana records that first captured her imagination. For her third LP, she joined forces with producer Johannes Matteoni at Los Angeles’ Infinite Spin Studio, recording live to tape with an accomplished ensemble featuring drummer Kyle Crane, bassist Elijah Thomson, pedal steel guitarist Dan Kalisher, and guitarist Chris Stills. The result is a more organic, free-flowing sound that embraces the spontaneity of musicians playing together, breathing new energy into Logan’s evocative songwriting.

There’s a wonderful sense of ease to “Tidal Wave,” as though the music is following its own current, letting each melody and instrumental flourish arrive exactly where it belongs. Beneath that effortless exterior lies a songwriter with a gift for capturing life’s fleeting beauty – and a performance whose natural chemistry brings those memories vividly into the present.

“‘Tidal Wave’ was one of those songs that just seemed to arrive,” Logan tells Atwood Magazine. “I wrote it in maybe 20 minutes, and most of the melody and lyrics came to me at once. I think some of my memories of growing up in the Swedish archipelago found their way into the song. I wanted it to feel light and airy, almost like you’re just talking, but with a steady rhythm that keeps moving forward. The melody felt like it was pouring out when I wrote it, and it was really fun to bring it into the studio with the band. They got the feeling of it straight away, and it all came together very naturally.”

Recollections of
Sunburnt beaches
An August skylight
Is looking down on us

Color me bright
And make me feel an ocean
‘Cause I’ve been down, down
Far too long

“Tidal Wave” unfolds like a collection of treasured snapshots, each verse opening another window into a romance that has left its mark.

Logan begins with a simple declaration of devotion – “You gave me something / That I can really lean on” – before carrying us through a world of sunburnt beaches, August skies, and carefree weekends. There’s an unmistakable sense of youthfulness in these scenes, of long summer days spent chasing the horizon with the person you love beside you. Even the smallest details take on extraordinary significance when viewed through the rosy lens of remembrance.

The music is every bit as intoxicating as the story it tells. Rooted in the golden age of ’70s folk and Laurel Canyon soft rock, “Tidal Wave” rolls along with an effortless, easygoing swagger, its buoyant rhythm and breezy instrumentation giving Logan’s melodies room to soar. Her vocals are especially mesmerizing, carrying a smoky, velvety sensuality that draws us deeper into the song’s embrace. She sounds utterly at home here, her expressive delivery lending an intimate, conversational quality to a performance brimming with color and personality. It’s the kind of music that practically begs to be played with the windows down, the radio up, and a whole afternoon stretching out ahead.

Yet for all its sweetness, “Tidal Wave” carries an undercurrent of sorrow. “Tidal wave / I’ll miss you forever and ever,” Logan sings in the chorus, her repeated refrain casting a wistful shadow over the song’s otherwise sunny disposition. Later, the lyric “Nothing scares me / When I’m with you” reveals the extraordinary comfort at the center of these recollections. There’s a beautiful tension between those two sentiments: The boundless security of being loved so completely, and the devastating realization that even our most cherished experiences eventually become part of the past. Logan allows both emotions to coexist, letting the melody carry the weight of a goodbye while the arrangement celebrates everything that came before it.

Tidal wave
I’ll miss you forever and ever
Tidal wave
I’ll miss you forever and ever

Perhaps that’s the real magic of “Tidal Wave”: Its ability to make nostalgia sound so wonderfully alive. The song invites us to revisit our own histories, to remember the faces we once knew by heart and the adventures that seemed destined to last forever. Its images are personal, yet the emotions behind them are universal. And there’s an invigorating sense of possibility running through the recording, as though every ending still leaves us with another road to travel, another summer to savor, another chance to fall head over heels. For all its reflections on the past, “Tidal Wave” is a song that makes you want to get out and live.

Julia Logan has long been an artist worth watching, and this latest chapter only deepens our admiration for her craft.

Atwood Magazine previously hailed her as “an instant classic,” celebrating her undeniable prowess as a songwriter and vocalist, and the years since have seen that promise develop into an increasingly distinctive artistic identity. With two albums already under her belt and a third on the horizon, Logan continues to follow her own creative compass, drawing upon her transatlantic upbringing and lifelong musical inspirations to create songs that are as transporting as they are emotionally resonant. “Tidal Wave” is an irresistible introduction to where she’s headed next, and we’re eager to hear what else awaits us.

Ahead of the single’s November 13 release, Logan caught up with Atwood Magazine to reflect on the places and people who have shaped her, the spontaneous joy of recording live, and the new creative horizons she’s exploring. Our conversation offers an intimate glimpse into the artist behind the music, and the experiences that continue to inspire her songwriting.

Stream “Tidal Wave” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and let this song wash over you and sweep you away.

After all, love is one hell of a wave to ride – and Julia Logan makes every moment of the journey worth savoring.

Got my blue dress
On for the weekend
Car wheels keep chasing
Us out of here

Nothing scares me
When I’m with you
You got something
That falls into me

Tidal wave
I’ll miss you forever and ever
Tidal wave
I’ll miss you forever and ever

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:: stream/purchase Tidal Wave here ::

:: connect with Julia Logan here ::

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Stream: “Tidal Wave” – Julia Logan

A CONVERSATION WITH JULIA LOGAN

Julia Logan: Hello, and thanks for having me back! I’m a Swedish-American singer/songwriter. I grew up on Dalarö, a small island in the Stockholm archipelago, and also spent some of my teenage years in Southern California. I started singing in the local church choir when I was younger and picked up the guitar when I was 13. I spent a lot of time writing songs in my room, although it took me until my early twenties to start thinking of it as something I could pursue seriously.

Musically, I’ve always been drawn to folk, Americana and great songwriting. I grew up listening to a lot of music from the ’60s and ’70s, particularly artists like Carole King, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, and I think those influences have stayed with me throughout the years. I’ve released two albums so far, and I’m now stepping into a new chapter with my third record.

Julia Logan: I really love that record. I made it with Daniel Bengtson, my producer and longtime collaborator in Sweden, and we worked on it over the course of about a year. We recorded whenever we could find time between other jobs, so the process was quite spread out.

I think one of the interesting things about making albums is that they become little time capsules. You can go back and trace what you were listening to, what kind of art or people inspired you, and where you were in your life when you wrote those songs.

Looking back, I think Faraway Nearby is quite introspective and melancholic. We were drawn to a slightly darker sound at the time, and a lot of the songs deal with isolation, change, loss and trying to find your place in the world. I think there’s always going to be a bit of melancholy in my songwriting, perhaps something that comes from my Swedish roots, but this was definitely a more introspective period for me.

I don’t actually listen to my older records very often. I’m usually either listening to new demos I’m working on or obsessively listening to different mixes in the studio. But it’s always interesting to look back at a record and remember the person you were when you made it.

Julia Logan: I have too many musical north stars, but the ones I always come back to – or rather, the ones I was listening to a lot while making this new record were Neil Young, Carole King, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, and Lucinda Williams.

What I’m most excited about is just exploring, writing new songs and seeing where they take me. Writing songs can always feel fresh and new, and it’s fun to discover new lanes and new ways of thinking about songwriting.

Julia Logan: I don’t think I, or any songwriter, can really explain why some songs come quickly and others need a lot more labouring and editing. Sometimes the melody and the words just arrive at the same time, and you have to catch them.

In general, I find that the songs I have to work too hard on are rarely the ones I end up putting out. That’s just been my experience. But I think those songs are important to write, too, because sometimes you have to get through the bad ones to get to the good ones.

For me, songs are often best written when you’re not thinking too much or being overly analytical. You can get more detailed later in the process when you’re editing. What I first liked about this song was the feeling of the melody. It had this forward motion, almost like a train, but it was also quite talkative and loose. I liked that it felt light and airy, while the rhythm kept moving forward.

Julia Logan: I think a lot of my songs touch on love, human longing, connection, and the idea of what home means. With this song, it’s less about a specific event and more about a feeling, and memories of certain people, places and moments.

Growing up between the Swedish archipelago and Southern California, I’ve spent a lot of my life around water, and I think those places and the memories connected to them naturally find their way into my songwriting. There are little flashes of different moments in the song – summers in the archipelago, sunburnt beaches, a blue dress on the weekend. It’s really an amalgamation of people, memories and sensations that have stayed with me.

Julia Logan: I think there’s something bittersweet about feeling completely safe with someone, like nothing can scare you when you’re together, while also knowing how much you might miss that person or that moment one day. I suppose it’s about how fleeting those moments can be, even when they feel so big while you’re in them.

I always find it interesting to hear what other people take away from a song, because they often connect with things in ways I hadn’t thought about myself. I think that’s one of the lovely things about songwriting – once a song is out there, people bring their own memories and experiences to it.

Julia Logan: I spent a lot of summers growing up in the Stockholm archipelago, running around the island with my friends and venturing out to other islands.

One thing I remember especially fondly is that every summer, when I was younger, a big group of friends and I would rent a place out in the outer archipelago, or the yttre skärgården. These are often just little rocky islands with a few houses scattered around. There were no showers or anything, and we’d have to do the dishes down by the water, but we’d spend days together out there, quite isolated from everything. It was really magical.

What’s quite special about the Stockholm archipelago is that there are thousands of islands, so you can find your own little island if you want to get away from everything. I think that’s quite a unique thing about growing up there.

Julia Logan: It was honestly one of the best recording experiences I’ve had. I recorded the album with producer Johannes Matteoni at Infinite Spin Studio in LA, together with Kyle Crane, Elijah Thomson, Dan Kalisher and Chris Stills. We also had two fantastic assistant engineers, Michael Vail Blum and Tyler Harris. It really was a dream team.

The whole thing came together quite spontaneously. I had coffee with Johannes around January or February 2025, and he showed me the studio he was working on and asked if I wanted to come in and record later that spring. At that point, I didn’t have very many songs finished, so it gave me a bit of a deadline and pushed me to write more.

I remember going to Austin for SXSW around that time and seeing lots of musicians with my friend Sofia. I came back feeling really inspired. I was also quite nervous about spending the money on recording, but eventually decided it was worth taking the leap. I was still finishing some of the songs just a few days before we went into the studio.

The demos Johannes sent to the musicians were basically just me singing and playing acoustic guitar. Some of the guys already knew each other, and some didn’t, but everyone was really excited to play. I think the fact that we were recording live to tape made a huge difference to the whole experience.

There’s something very special about recording that way. You have a limited amount of tape and time, so you can’t endlessly redo things or make every little edit afterwards. Everyone has to be really present and listen to each other. When you finish a take, you have to decide together whether you’re happy with it or want to try again, or even record over what you’ve already done. It makes everyone more focused, and the decisions become something you make as a group. Sometimes a musician might play something slightly differently than you imagined, but that can end up being the thing that makes the recording special.

I loved that feeling of everyone playing and singing together in the same room. We also had a lot of fun in between takes, being silly and not taking ourselves too seriously. You need that, too!

What’s funny is that we went into the studio without really knowing exactly how the songs would turn out, since the demos were so stripped back. But everyone understood the music immediately. “Tidal Wave” was actually the second song we recorded, and Johannes and the musicians just got the feeling of it straight away. It all came together very organically.

Afterwards, Johannes and I were on such a high from the experience. I wouldn’t have wanted to record the album any other way. There’s something about capturing a performance as it happens, with all its little imperfections and unexpected moments, that I find really beautiful. I think we sometimes have too many choices in the studio today. Having limitations can actually make the work better, because it forces you to commit to a performance and leaves room for the human side of things. I think that’s also part of why so many older records have such a wonderful quality to them.

Julia Logan: I think this album has quite a different sound from Faraway Nearby. That record was a little more expansive, with more layers and synths, and leaned more towards indie pop, which I still really love. For this one, since I wrote most of it in California and recorded it here in LA, I think it naturally became more influenced by the folk and Americana music I’ve always loved. There’s more pedal steel, with Dan’s beautiful playing, and more acoustic instruments in general.

I wanted to go back a little to my roots and make something more straightforward and stripped back, where you can really hear the instruments and the performances. I didn’t want too many layers or too much going on. I think the new record is also a bit lighter, sunnier and more hopeful than Faraway Nearby, although there’s always going to be a certain amount of melancholy in my songwriting. Maybe that’s something that comes from my Swedish roots.

Thematically, I think there’s a red thread that runs through all my records. I keep coming back to human longing, connection, love and just what it’s like being human. But on this album, memories and feelings from my youth growing up in the Stockholm archipelago and Southern California have become more present. I’ve also found myself reflecting on different stages of life – looking back at my early twenties, now being in my early thirties, thinking about where I am in life and looking ahead to what’s next. I think there’s a lot of nostalgia in the record, but also a sense of moving forward and figuring things out.

Julia Logan: I hope people can find their own meaning in the song. I want my songs to always be a kind of mirror for the listener. I feel like once a song is released, it doesn’t really belong to me anymore, it belongs to whoever is listening.

I’d much rather hear what it means to other people than tell them what it should mean. For me, I just know that I loved writing and making this song, and I hope other people will feel the same way. And if they don’t, that’s okay too.

Julia Logan: When I went to Austin, my friend and I ended up at this house party, sort of a day festival outside the official SXSW events. We were just sitting in someone’s front yard with maybe 30 other people when this band called Boomershack started playing, and I loved them from the very first note. They don’t have many songs out yet, but they have a session on Western AF that I really recommend checking out.

I’ve also been listening to Kurt Vile’s latest album, which is great car music. I was at End of the Road Festival recently and saw CMAT live, which was so, so good. And another album I’ve been listening to is Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

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:: stream/purchase Tidal Wave here ::

:: connect with Julia Logan here ::

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Stream: “Tidal Wave” – Julia Logan

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