JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE

MILES FROM NOWHERE

Glorious symphonic pomp rock from Swedish multi-instrumentalist and his outfit

I admit that I was unaware of this outfit until I saw them on my Inside Out feed, the Stockholm progressive rock project having signed to that stable for the release of this, their sophomore album. Well, the feed has my grateful thanks, because this is a real treat for the aural senses. One and a half hours of expansive, symphonic, pomp/progressive rock that will appeal not only to fans of bands such as The Flower Kings (whose maestro, Roine Stolt, guests on the final part of the epic title track), but also those who, like me, did not think that the world was about to cease spinning on its axis in purist prog horror when the likes of Asia, Genesis, Yes et al began having a lot of success by fusing their innate progressive skills with more expansive, and, yes, commercial sensibilities.

Because, about a minute into the album opener, Secret Motive Man, with its vocal harmonies and relentless beat of the rhythm section boosted by Lindberg’s expansive keys, the key word to me is accessibility. Every single track is a joy to listen to.

There are two distinct sides to this album. Side One has six tracks and is a more song-based effort, not withstanding the fact that there are, in fact, two epic tracks in excess of 10 minutes. The second side has five suites forming the whole of the title track and is over 23 minutes long.

The musicianship is never anything less than high quality, and the production is crystal clear.

Little Man was my first introduction via the official video I have embedded below, and listeners will, I hope, get a sense of what I mean above by the commercial sensibilities of Lindberg. It is, actually, a track which reminds me a little bit of the mood Mark Kelly created in his excellent Marathon side project. The guitar solo, in particular, is a cheering piece, but the whole track is uplifting and on this, as well as elsewhere where she features, I really like the vocal contributions of Jenny Storm. She, Lindberg, and Jonas Sundqvist on lead vocals combine to harmonise very effectively throughout.

Summer Queen weighs in at almost 16 minutes. Like all the finest symphonic epics, it is a slow burner. It takes its time to expand. An intricate keyboard intro before Storm is the first voice you hear. As I write this, the sun is shining, and this vocal passage evokes to me the sense of warmth and freedom the end of the long cold winter brings. When the track does expand following this passage, it morphs into a harder sequence, with rolling riffs underscoring the vocalists taking it in turns to tell us their story. From then on in, it is in parts pretty heavy, in others synth sunny, then acoustic & light with the denouement more traditionally symphonic before fading out with a lovely piano sequence. This is a classy and eclectic piece of music, so could pretty reasonably be described as typically Swedish!

The second epic of the first side, Oceans of Time, is a little over eleven and a half minutes long. It announces itself to the world with some bombast before presenting us with a damned good piece of what we used to call back in the day Album Orientated Rock. In many prog circles, this would be considered insulting, but not here in Lazland. There are, though, some more of the eclectic traits seen earlier with some particularly funky grooves taking centre stage midway through and some keys which would not have sounded out of place in Stormbringer era Purple before the main theme reasserts itself. Good stuff and released as one of three singles, the others being Why I’m Here and the opening track.

Astral Journey follows this. It is an instrumental running in at almost 6 minutes long and showcases the folk rock side of the project’s nature with acoustic and electrical passages vying for supremacy. Very enjoyable and interesting.

The side ends with the aforementioned single, Why I’m Here, which is the shortest track on the album. A cheering and sunny love song, this is simply a fun track which has you tapping your feet without really being conscious of doing so. The impressive lead guitar is by Lindberg’s brother, Joel.

And so we arrive at the album’s tour de force. As good as everything I describe above is, it all, in reality, leads up to this, the title track split into five distinct movements.

Naturally, no slab of symphonic epic would be worthy of the name unless it had an Overture to start proceedings, and this is what we get here. Parts of this and other movements are most clearly influenced by Swedish prog patrons, but Lindberg does not fall into the trap of being some kind of “neo-copyist”. Yes, the influence is there and wears its heart on its sleeve, but the piece as a whole retains its own distinct identity, and this is not an easy balance to pull off.

As the close of Overture soars above the clouds in the finest prog tradition, we move to Don’t Walk Away. This movement again highlights the commercial nous this project exudes. It is a simple piece, yes, but better for it. Very uplifting and thoroughly enjoyable.

Part III is I Don’t Know Where You Are which opens with more of those Purplesque keys. This movement is pretty bluesy in places, and we again have some marvellous vocal interplays between the main voice protagonists. The pace at the close is fast with some great bursts of guitar energy in particular. This segues into Part IV, Memories, which is another delicate section, a wistful ballad with a particularly lovely key loop featured and more delicious vocals.

The final part, Miles From Nowhere, as stated above, has as its star guest the wonderful Roine Stolt, a musician I admire tremendously even if I was not altogether wholly enamoured with the latest TFK effort. His guitars are instantly recognisable. The Lindberg project did not need a touch of this class to lift it above the average, but obviously having it and the special aura that a class act brings with it does not hinder proceedings. This wonderfully sung and played movement brings the album to its natural conclusion. The music is allowed to breathe and it genuinely takes you to that sweet spot above the ground and is the type of grandiose statement which once formed the bedrock of American FM radio, which, again, is very much a compliment, not a criticism.

On the digital album, there is a shortened version of Oceans of Time after the main epic.

This is a wonderful album which will be played regularly for years to come. It comes very highly recommended to admirers of good quality, well played, tuneful, and joyful rock music.