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Reviews of Hill Songs

”Eva Hillered has got one of the best voices in Sweden right now. On her new CD Hill Songs, she intergrates delicately her singer-songwriter esthetics with impulses from folkmusic and country. Coste Apetrea is the producer and plays guitarr, besides her own songs she also delivers a heartfelt interpretation of David Olneys ” Deeper Well”.
Rootsy

”Eva Hillered is doing a kind of folkcountry, some songs reminds me of Emmylou Harris. The old guitarr hero Coste Apetrea is the producer and the record is both beautiful and exciting to listen too.”
Allehanda Härnösand

”Eva Hillered writes beautiful songs and has a voice with a strong emotional character. This CD is very good, especially the first track, This Road Chose Me.”
Trots allt

”She has an intimate soulful voice and the Coste Apetreas production sometimes reminds me about Emmy-Lou Harris cooperation with Daniel Lanois. It is a beautiful meeting between the Swedish folkmusic and modern Americana.”
Helsingborgs dagblad

”On Hill Songs Eva Hillered is searching for an unique expression, and I think she really succeeds.”
Kristianstadsbladet

”The record has a unique sound. I really like when the keyharp sneaks in behind the lead on the first track ,This road chose me, and the Emmy-Lou Harris song gets a beautiful interpretation. It sounds like the violin and the keyharp tries to move the melody to the Swedish Dalälven.”
Trelleborgs allahanda

Reviews of Life Line

Life Line/ Dala-Demokraten

”Eva Hillered sounds a little bit like a Swedish Joni Mitchell or Emmylou Harris. She has got the same naked simplicity as Joni Mitchell, and a little bit of the same approach as Emmylou Harris and also a little of the quiet intensity that Joan Baez has got. But most of all Eva Hillered sounds as herself.
When you listen to Life Line, you recognize that what Eva Hillered is doing is unique in Sweden. She is odd in the most positive way. And of course there can not be many artists that have got Evas quality, a singer-songwriter that sings folk music in a way that sounds 2000.”

Life Line/ Musikindustrin

”Eva Hillered is an accomplished singer / songwriter whose debut album, “Not why, but how” was released in 1988 to critical acclaim. Since then, numerous songs have been written, records released and tours that have seen the Swedish songbird grace most of Europe’s more acclaimed singing venues have come and gone. Her musical style has always encompassed singing in her native Swedish language, but on her new album, Life Line [Hill Songs/CDA], collaboration with a variety of international songwriters has seen her first English release. As she did in her previous album, ‘The heart’s red meaning’, she once again teams up with Göran Eriksson who also produced the album. Life Line is Eva Hillered’s best album.”

Katrineholms kuriren/ Life Line

”Eva Hillered builds network around the world… She guested Katrineholm along with her fellow singersongwriters at Villa Sandhem. An intimate fantastic concert.”

GT, GotlandsTidningar/Life Line

”It is an incredibly satisfying feeling, hearing Eva Hillered sing her songs. She has such a naturally positive delivery and is able to come across very optimistic and happy even if we realise life isn’t always plain sailing or music isn’t always positive.Eva, together with Dana Cooper will be embarking on an extended tour beyond the borders of Sweden andwill include further performances in both Berlin and Prague. The show promises to be a deliciously delightful musical feast. ”

Reviews of "Hjärtats röda mening" (The Red Meaning of the Heart),

"It sounds just like that, like "the red meaning of the heart", when Eva Hillered sings about love, joy and sorrow. Hillered is no beginner, that is perfectly clear. She knows how to join music and lyrics into a functioning whole and is as a singer able to deliver the songs with a convincing sensitivity." (SVD)

"It doesn't have to be more complicated than this. A songwriter sings about life, light and darkness, the joy of having it, to have reconquered it. Most of it is good. She sings beautifully, Eva Hillered, with the strength of a Marie Bergman and without the usual hesitation of some folk pop. The comp does the job, guitars and hammond, base and drums. Not least the guitarist and producer Göran Eriksson deserves a good word." (Göteborgs-Posten )

"If I do my maths right, this is Eva Hillered's fourth album in her own name. Behind other artists the number is probably uncountable, and even if it was a while ago, she used to be one of the country's most wanted background singers. On her own she does, as so many others right now, a Swedish version of a singer-songwriter. With folk and pop as a foundation, she makes a number of ballads with a personal attitude. She sings with a beautiful, vulnerable voice, the songs have distinct refrains and some of them really get to you." (Upsala Nya Tidning)

LYRICS TO RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN
"I read in the press release of the album that Eva Dahlgren likes Hillered, who share her name. And it's easy to understand, they are related. If Jack Vreeswijk is one of the boys, then Eva Hillered is the more feminine. Her lyrics are poetic descriptions of a female reality - often the inner one, with few outer details (which by the way is typical for male lyrics).
It's identification poetry, which I think most women can recognize themselves in. The music is pleasant, soft half-acoustic rock-pop with distinct American influences, neat guitars and a single small harmonic organ.
When should you listen to it? On the train when you want some mind company." (Tara )

"Hjärtats röda mening" is a collection of unusually soft and harmonic songs for better or worse.
I would personally like to see a Eva Hillered who was more daring and let her songs be a little more rough. However, nothing can take away from her that this album is beautiful, both with its light and its darkness." (Gefle Dagblad)

"Eva sings 12 of her own compositions with a voice that is crystal-clear with a restrained comp.
The song material is strong and in a world where Norah Jones can sell seventeen million copies of her debut album, there should be a lot of people who would appreciate this album." (Skaraborgs Allehanda)

”Before José González entered the stage, an ”in-the-round” was delivered with Brett Perkins (USA), Eva Hillered and Johannes Hallbom, wonderful musical personalities all three of them, but in different ways. Eva Hillered owns a concentration and intensity that she manages to deliver in only four songs with a lot of interruptions in between. Engaging lyrics, the heart at the right place and a very nice voice. She will probably return to Woody again.” (GotlandsTidningar)

”She makes music that is honest and straight-forward. Music close to the heart.” (Eva Dahlgren about Eva Hillered in Elle)

Reviews of "Jag vet" (I Know), Diva

"We have met Eva Hillered a couple of times before. She has now reached her third and best album so far - Jag vet.
Hillered is talented in many ways, which she most certainly shows here. She writes almost all material herself, it's just one of the eleven songs on the album she didn't compose, and her variety is wide /.../ Eva has a personal and sensitive voice. It sometimes become hot, but it can also show the lyrics in a naked way /.../ Eva Hillered takes a step forward with Jag vet. I hope she will now be discovered by the big audience. She's worth it." (Bohusläningen )

"With this third album, Eva Hillered takes a step into the circle of the most personal female singers in Sweden. The lyrics are close and exciting, far from the halting rhymes of the non-stop music and the music is beautifully arranged by Lasse Englund. Here is a naked guitar sound that gets to you." (Metallarbetaren )

"A mix between Joni Mitchell and Eva Dahlgren, since everything should be labelled. The comparison is totally right, it sounds like a woman who has so many things to tell that she has to sing. And she does it well; personally, in her own way and very musically." (Skaraborgs Läns Tidning )

"How naked! No ingratiating refrains, no curtains of sound to hide in. Eva Hillered jumps without a net, casually offering her voice. With mature artistry this actress, singing teacher, record label manager, etc. tells her own written ballads. We don't always understand them, but they are healthily free from the usual heartache. Pining, poetical and very musical....Has anything like this really been made since Lisa Nilsson's "Himlen runt hörnet"? On the other hand, Eva Hillered would never let herself be compared to anyone who doesn't write her own lyrics. But the two girls have their guts in common." (Sydsvenska Dagbladet )

LIVING SWEDISH POP WITH A MEANING
"Her debut was produced by the two foremost female Nordic rock artists, Eva Dahlgren and Anne-Grete Preuss, and then came another album. They were two brilliant pop albums and they were not liked by the male review pack, where Expressen was more or less degrading to women about the first album. But now Eva Hillered is back and it's still characteristic and good. Her voice is special and the lyrics, which can be somewhat thin on the paper, lift when she sings them. It's living Swedish pop with a meaning. I like it."
(Christer B. Jaréus)

"In the flood of MTV-babes whose foremost ability is to show off their feminine charms, it's incredibly liberating with Eva Hillered showing her paces instead. Her third album is released at the DIVA label, founded by women to get more female music out on a somewhat male dominated market. "Jag vet" is altogether good. Eva has written both music and lyrics herself...... It's easy to think at a first listening, that Marie Bergman has had her finger in it, but it's not entirely true. Lasse Englund is the producer, but since Eva is so strong in herself and in her expression, this becomes after a while a very personal album that fits into every woman's (and man's) record shelf."
(Arbetaren)

"Eva Hillered knows she's good. And you can hear it. On her third album, produced by Lasse Englund, a secure and confident singer meets the listener. And when you have inner confidence, you can open up. In a humble and interesting way, she supplies thoughts about life and love and everyday things, like sitting in a café or nightly observations. Musically the CD is laid back, almost humble. The lyrics are the centre of the strong ballads, composed by Eva Hillered herself."(Visor)

Magnificent and mature
"Eva Hillered keeps on writing lyrics that affects. On her third album "Jag vet" (Diva), she achieves a poetic mix between folk, pop and blues. A more mature Eva Dahlgren, if you want."(Viva)

"Eva has a voice that leaves you somewhere between Eva Dahlgren and Marie Bergman, but her songs have enough personality of their own to become pieces of plagiarism. Tasteful, skin deep folk rock."(Veckorevyn)

Favourite and anonymous
"Eva Hillered has become the music producers’ favourite on the radio. Her new album "Jag vet" is one of the most played at P3."
(Skånska Dagbladet)

"When Eva Hillered is shouting out that she's happy in the opening of her third album, it really bubbles inside her. The new record contains eleven songs and they're all produced by Lasse Englund. The code of honour during the recording was simplicity and it has given a very vivid picture of Eva Hillered today. I have already several favourites apart from the encouraging rejoicing in Lycklig..... Very beautiful."(Eskilstuna- Kuriren)

"The record label Diva presents a to many people eagerly awaited solo-CD. On her third album Eva worked with Lasse Englund as a producer. Together they have sought for simplicity and the core in the songs, they've found a straight, nude sound, which carries the lyrics that want to and can touch you. Musically it's an artist who moves playfully between genres...
Many of us remember Eva's Grammis-nominated debut "Inte varför utan hur" with the hit "Stannar här hos dig". After the second album, many wondered what happened to Eva Hillered. Here is the answer. Just enjoy a colourful singer and songwriter"(Kinda-Posten)

12 tracks from Diva
...."Best is without a doubt Eva Hillered (symptomatically the most established with two albums on Record Station behind her). Her "Det kommer hända igen" is a sensationally good trip into Joni Michell-land." (SVD 1994)

Reviews of "Ballad från en soptipp"

The in-list
Eva Hillered - what a voice that singer has! Listen for example to "Deidres samba" from the CD "Cornelis Anamma"! Eat your vocal cords out, Anne-Lie Rydé! (Aftonbladet )

Perfect artistry
..." Ballad på en soptipp is permeated with brilliant artistry and musicality. Eva Hillered is a strong interpreter of Cornelis with an emotional voice."(Göteborgs Posten)

The hair rose when Eva sang
......"Musically the older songs that Eva sang on her own and the more spirited Latino-inspired compositions worked best. When Eva Hillered quite early on sang "Telegram från en bombad by" with a simple comp, it was so beautiful that the hair rose. "Deidres samba" and "Felicia- adjö", that by the way is about the tragic figure in the novel with same name in Aksel Sandemose's "Varulven" and "Felicias bryllup", was sung by the singer with credit. She has a voice that makes you think of Marie Fredriksson, but never ends up in the same strained moan. (Hallands Nyheter)

Cornelis would have liked this
...."Eva Hillered does excellent interpretations of Deidres samba and Alice´s snaps....This bunch can really do Cornelis in a respectful and somewhat humoristic way. In addition they succeed incredibly well in bringing out the core and the shades of the lyrics. Cornelis would have liked this." (Göteborgs Posten)

The music was the most impressing in "Ballad från en soptipp" at Parken
"Eva Hillered with her incredible voice does Fiffiga Nanette so well that Fiffiga Nanette herself stands in the shade.... Cornelis' music is beautiful and in this production it's even more beautiful than when he sang the songs himself. The whole production offers rich musical experiences in everything from Bo Sandberg's flute, Göran Wiklund's bluesy voice to Eva Hillered's big, bright, well, what can I say? I think "No one like you, no one can touch me like you", is closest to the truth".