Photo: Jens Nordstrom

Swedish orchestral-folk trio Solander excel at making simple, pretty songs that sound redemptive, yet potentially depressing at the same time. Their latest effort Passing Mt. Satu is chock full of this approach, with “Generations Lost” as one of the standout tunes. But they swear this song, which has is hooked around the phrase “it is pretty clear we’re going to drown,” is a jumping-off point to a more hopeful exploration of human relationships.

“The song is about being let down and finding yourself left behind,” says Solander’s Anja Linna. “Once again, you are waiting for that familiar feeling to grow on you. At this point the only thing you can find comfort in is the fact that the ones hurting you eventually will head the same way. But it is in not giving you the entire picture. It was chosen to be the first vocal piece [on the album] so that the journey would be a positive one, travelling from a darker to a lighter place.”

Which is what Solander’s about: journeys they take together that eventually lead to song writing. Even if the journey they’re taking involves a fictional place like Mt. Satu, the mountain referenced in the album’s title. “We find the travelling part of being a musician wonderful,” she says. “So in some way all the travelling we have done over the last couple of years created the songs on the album. Mount Satu is an imaginary and magic place that we enjoy coming back to every time we come together as a trio.”

Passing Mt. Satu is out March 13 on Tendervision.