Svenson



The last time we heard from Sven Kühbauch, a.k.a. Svenson, was on his 2022 album Cycology, where he celebrated the fun of cycling, from building strength, balance, and coordination to the pure satisfaction of crossing the finish line. Since then, Sven’s been busy working on his next album, and that’s exactly what we’re now diving into.

To truly appreciate 'Beauty & Envy', his new album, we have to start from its title. It's a clear representation of a deep connection between the good and the bad, where beauty, the good, stands for all the amazing, peaceful, and inspiring things in the world, while envy, the bad, hints at the jealousy, conflict, and destruction that can come from seeing that beauty.

This album is about the world itself in which both light and darkness coexist. It also reveals how fragile this world can be and reminds us that everyone has a part to play in keeping peace. All this is coming from Sven’s virtuoso guitar performance and nine spectacular compositions.

Sound-wise, this album was recorded mainly with Sven’s Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder guitar using its special Sustainiac system on Peavey Revalver software for guitar recording. Basically, all guitars, bass, keyboards and electronic beats are played and programmed by Svenson himself, except the live drums which in this album are played by Jake Naugle.

'Beauty & Envy' begins with a bang, as the very first track, 'On and On and On and On', throws you straight into humanity’s endless cycle of mistakes, wars, and disasters. The music is an intense mix of heavy, distorted lead guitar and echoing ethereal vocals. Heavy on the beat and the bass, this song brings a sort of nuclear paranoia and makes you imagine a constantly burning post-apocalyptic wasteland. In the context of this album, it's quite an eerie and terrifying start.


With this tense and chaotic entry, we move to the next track 'Thanks for the curved screen'. Now, you might think this is a bit of a strange turn towards a personal message shifting the focus inwards, compared to the previous world annihilation imagery. But Svenson does this to address that even in the darkest hour, he remembers a small, personal, almost hopeful moment of a gift he received from his niece Melina, a simple yet thoughtful gift, a curved screen monitor. Apart from that, from start to end, this track is just a happy, soothing ride, driven by layers of Svenson's solo guitar performances.


Picking up the pace, we move into the title track 'Beauty & Envy', which again hangs on intense emotions but delivers them through a calmer, more melodic flow. The bass really stands out here, running steadily underneath the sustained, soaring notes of the guitar, kind of giving the whole track a deep, grounded feel. This song, however, is about how beautiful the Earth naturally is, with its mountains, oceans, forests, and life, and at the same time, how humans are damaging it through things like war, pollution, deforestation, and climate change.


Next up in line, we have 'Grieving mother, tears of a father', which is a gritty, more atmospheric track, leaning into that film soundtrack kind of sound. Svenson's guitar continues to ring, bending and stretching the distorted notes of pain and heartbreak. As the title suggests, this song is for those parents who are left behind with the tragedy of losing their children, especially because of war. It’s a tribute to that deep, almost impossible-to-describe loss, sorrow, and helplessness. But, in the bigger picture, once again, it shows the human cost of destruction, not just damage to the Earth itself, but the way violence and war break human lives and families too.


The narrative goes back to Svenson's personal life with the next track 'My Spring is Gaia 2025' which is a love song for his wife Gaia, originally written in 2008 and reimagined. The music here is a combination of strong piano keys, a guitar solo and interesting chord progressions supported by a unique rhythm pattern. It has more emotional input from a mind that cares and loves his other half and finds a way to express feelings through this one of his soothing compositions. Furthermore, in this album, you also have 'My Spring is Gaia 2008', the eighth track, which is a much older iteration of the same track with some major differences.



'Third Stone from the Sun' comes next, opening with glowing synth pads and sharp, radiant bursts from the guitar, like sunlight breaking through the sky. And yes, if the title sounds familiar, that's because it is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, with Svenson, in context to the album, mixing peace and destruction themes. He uses a similar spirit to Hendrix’s love for dreamy, spacey tones with chaotic energy. He plays it with a modern sound though, using his Schecter Sun Valley guitar and Sustainiac system to create long, expressive notes without needing super loud volume, like Hendrix would have used.


The seventh track in this album is 'Timeless', which interestingly only uses a sped-up ticking clock sound as a sort of metronome and rhythm for Svenson to layer his guitar riff and solo. It's a bonus track that acts like an interlude, revised from his early career and is played like a spontaneous thought. Even more, this track is basically a small part of early demos and ideas that link to this album.


'Beauty & Envy' ends with 'OMG (funky shit)' feat. Swan Cuebeaux,  shaking off stress, forgetting the heavy stuff for a moment, and recharging your energy by simply enjoying music, having fun, and feeling alive. Swan here, is a blues and jazz guitarist who brings his own style, breaking that tension. Not only that, but you have some funky brass elements with short, tight and choppy guitar playing under a clean and sharp tone. It gets funky to the point where everything feels percussive and is basically your regular delightful, feel-good jam.