tibia is only two guys, who like to sing brash, noisy songs about late nights, rough mornings, and specific women. Each of the four songs the band has released contain a woman’s name in the title (though a couple could be double-entendres), and often to late nights partying in different cities. When their first single “Two weeks of Gloria” was released last summer, they described the song’s subject this way:
Gloria is everyone we have ever cared about personified. All she’s trynna do is live her little life and when she’s hungover and miserable we want her to remember that everything is okay. She’s gonna be alright.
“Two Weeks of Gloria” was included in a Friday Playlist back in when the website was ugly.
tibia is Vide Willemark and Elias Sahlin, two lifelong friends from Stockholm. The early ’00s influence is strong throughout the four singles, and the duo draws inspiration from pretty much every act in Meet Me In The Bathroom. That’s not to say it’s derivative — tibia’s distinct Interpol-slash-dance-punk sound varies across the four singles. Here’s “Mary’s Lifestyle”, which merges post-punk guitars with high-energy percussion. All of their ‘official videos’ are edited like wild nights captured on vacation for TikTok.
The last single, December’s “Molly in Mexico” (see what I mean about the double entendres) brings the post-punk guitar to the foreground and has the depth of a filled-out band supporting the Robert Smith-esque vocal. The video looks like another epic vacation in Mexico City with carnival rides, street parties, Mexican wrestling and a good lookin’ dog:
See what heaven looks like now, their debut album is set for release march 14. I have high hopes for these two in 2025.
