After building steady momentum with ‘Low Low’, Swedish artist Astian returns with ‘How’, a track that takes the confusion of heartbreak and reshapes it into something light on its feet without losing the emotion underneath.
There’s an appealing simplicity to the song from the outset. Rather than filling every space, Astian and collaborator Rasmus Viberg keep the production lean, allowing the vocal melody and rhythm to do most of the work. And it’s that restraint that gives ‘How’ a relaxed pop-R&B feel with just enough movement to keep it buoyant while leaving the lyrics exposed.
At the centre of the track is a familiar but difficult question: what happens when you know a relationship is over, yet have no clear idea how to actually move beyond it? But he avoids forcing the song towards an artificial sense of closure. Instead, he lets the uncertainty remain unresolved, which gives the writing a more believable quality. The emotions are messy, contradictory and occasionally repetitive in the way real post-breakup thoughts often are.
But what makes ‘How’ particularly effective is the contrast between that subject matter and the song’s playful musical character. The melody feels immediate and instinctive, which makes sense given how quickly the track came together. There’s a looseness to the performance that helps preserve that initial spark, and the decision to keep the first vocal take adds to the sense that nothing has been overworked.
The influence of late-90s and early-2000s pop also comes through naturally, but rather than leaning too heavily on nostalgia, he uses it as a subtle reference point, most notably in the outro, which carries a bright melodic bounce inspired by Hanson’s ‘MMMBop’. It’s a small touch but gives the track an extra dose of personality as well.
With more than three million streams across his catalogue and a growing profile in Sweden and beyond, Astian continues to show why his straightforward approach to vulnerability connects. ‘How’ is polished without feeling clinical, emotional without becoming heavy-handed, and catchy enough to stick around long after the final refrain.
