Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) debuts his new project, SunYears, with an album of guitar based folk/rock songs and numerous collaborations.

“As you get older, it gets easier to write songs because you become more vulnerable in a different way,” Morén explains of the bold and open-hearted song ‘Come Fetch My Soul!’ featuring Jess Williamson, offering, “it’s about being overwhelmed by the love you have for your partner, and this feeling of putting yourself in the hands of something or someone else.”

The 10-track album’s melodic wisdom immediately feels familiar yet is unexplored territory for Morén, who delivers a collection of tunes that instantly feel timeless. Ranging from wistful folk and Beatles-esque pop to psychedelic guitar jangle and shimmering balladry, the album is a result of nostalgic listening habits and thematically from dreams, most notably the rockabilly-esque track “Last Night I Dreamt I Met Phil & Don,” which takes inspiration from a dream meeting pop legends the Everly Brothers.

For the album, Morén enlisted fellow indie artists Ron Sexsmith, Jess Williamson, Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats, Bonny Light Horseman), and Kathryn Williams, which resulted in multiple duets throughout the album. The closing track “Wake Up,” written during a songwriting retreat, features Ren Harvieu. “During that trip, we sang a lot together in different groups,” explains Morén, “and it was that spirituality of singing with other people that I want to bring into this record.”

An open-ended name that references both the classic sound of 1950s Sun Records and the passage of time itself, SunYears has been years in the making with a figurative birth that came during the pandemic. With touring scrapped, Morén rediscovered his love of playing guitar in solitude and the art of collaboration, which he did with a tight-knit group of friends and peers in his hometown of Stockholm.

Despite evoking the music of the past, Come Fetch My Soul! ultimately embodies Morén’s desire to look to the future, both of the project and of his career as a songwriter in general. “At my age, I’m becoming more relaxed when it comes to how I make music,” he reflects. “I feel more comfortable now, and I could make music like this for the rest of my life.”