NASHVILLE, Tennessee— “Pop music is an art form that is superficial until the listener decides that it is not,” Popdust’s Thomas Burns Scully wrote on Thursday. “Andreas Moss feels like he is acutely aware of this, and so has created something here that presents a perfect superficial veneer. You can listen to this album and not think twice about a single lyric. Once that veneer is stripped away, however, he has left layers and layers of insight and scar tissue for you to revel in. Go ahead and do so.”
The pop culture blog premiered the Nashville-based artist’s debut, self-titled EP yesterday, while his newest cut, “Kokain,” earned a top spot on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist.
Moss, born in Sweden as Jonathan Thulin, amassed Dove Awards, number-one records, and headlining tours as a Christian recording artist before making the transition to pop music in recent years. After struggling with the acceptance of his sexuality within the church, the sexually fluid singer-songwriter decided to go his own way.
“Being a Christian artist was a lot different than being an artist who happened to be Christian,” Moss explains. “The expectations from the listeners were, most of the time, too much for me to live up to. I began absolutely hating myself because I couldn’t be what they wanted me to be… I felt like I had to hide who I was. Shame and fear was always the foundation of my reality, and my music before this point reflected that. Now, I feel like I’m finally not afraid to talk about what I’ve been through. Being able to write this new music with no limits has been the best decision… artistically and emotionally.”
Signed to Nashville’s iconic Curb Records as the inaugural artist on their new pop music imprint, Moss debuted in late 2016 with the viral hit, “Thinking About You,” which earned over 3 million streams on Spotify, and followed up with the cathartic “Stuck In My Feelings,” landing at #41 on Billboard’s Dance chart. Praised by Billboard, Wonderland, and Clash among others, his tour schedule has seen him performing alongside Juicy J, Fetty Wap, and Andy Grammar.
The Andreas Moss EP is available now via Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music, Amazon, and Google Play.