Arn-Identified Flying Objects and Alien Friends is the solo project of Arne Floryd, a Stockholm-based songwriter who previously played guitar and sang in the Swedish band Redmoon. Since launching the project in 2020, Floryd has built a steadily growing catalog shaped by Americana, power pop, and touches of Swedish folk, often collaborating with musicians like David Myhr, who contributes backing vocals and co-production, and drummer Andreas Quincy Dahlbäck.
John in Roses’ Deep
“John in Roses’ Deep (Version One)” is one of the clearest folk detours in Floryd’s catalog, an experimental reworking of the eighteenth-century Swedish folk story Sven i Rosengård. The source material is dark and unresolved: a man on the run after killing his own brother, and a mother left waiting for a homecoming that may never happen. Rather than smoothing the story into something tidier, the song leans into its themes of shame, doubt, and longing, and leaves plenty of open space for the listener to sit with the discomfort rather than hand them a clean resolution.
Musically, it commits fully to its folk roots. Acoustic guitars, harpsichord, and mandolins build the foundation, while a soaring shawm adds an older, almost ceremonial texture that pulls the arrangement further from contemporary pop and closer to something that feels genuinely centuries old. It’s a soundscape that manages to feel both historically rooted and immediate at the same time, carrying real emotional weight without ever overplaying its hand.
Final Thoughts
“John in Roses’ Deep” shows a different side of Floryd’s range, trading his usual Americana and power pop leanings for something closer to traditional balladry, and it’s a rewarding detour. With “The King and the Sparrow” already released, it’s a good moment to catch up with this project.
You can find Arn-Identified Flying Objects and Alien Friends on Spotify, on Instagram, and on Facebook. What did you think of the single? Stay tuned to MusicOnTheRox.com for all your music news and reviews.
