Jesper Lindell “Before the Sun”

Third time out for bluesy Swedish singer-songwriter and now well into his stride on this outstanding record.

Jesper Lindell hails from Dalarna County in Sweden, northwest of Stockholm, but you would never know it. He sounds like the musical son of Van Morrison or Nathaniel Rateliff. With a back story of mixed fortunes (he wanted to be a footballer but a serious on-field accident ended that, his burgeoning career was suspended due to COVID restrictions and a congenital kidney disease meant dialysis for a year before a transplant at around the same time), he bought himself out of a recording contract which led to him self-releasing his debut album which fortunately gained a lot of traction. But it was his second album ‘Twilights‘ that set him on his current path to success. Our own colleague Jonathan Smith rated this album very highly (9/10 score – ‘It is a real pleasure to listen to the record; and on finishing, to go back to the start, and find it all just as good again’).

And so, we come to ‘Before the Sun’; the third full-length outing from Lindell, and boy, is he on a roll.  It’s in similar style as ‘Twilights’, using his own band reinforced with The Brunnsvik Horns. Now the press package that came with the album suggested that Brunnsvik, where the album was recorded, might become a new Muscle Shoals, and indeed, if this is the quality of production that emanates from this studio, who can say why not?  The album kicks off with the leadoff single ‘One of these rainy days’, an uplifting song that hopes for better days after all the pain and problems. The track starts with acoustic guitar and a great bass line, then swirling organ kicks on over a piano before the horns make their trademark statement and then guitars have their say, with a couple of short solos. Great start. Although likened to Chris Stapleton, Lindell’s more likely influences are Van Morrison, and particularly, The Band.

The title track has a neat accordion in the mix and solo and has a very familiar refrain. It’s probably the most Band-like track.  Another single was ‘Never gonna last’, reviewed very positively in AUK. It’s a great song written during the pandemic when Lindell was on dialysis, and whole world was in the depths of despair. The song is written in hope of better times and ends with an abrupt singing of the title.

‘Good Evening’ is a rather joyous barroom swing with a stunning rollicking piano solo from Carl Lindvall, and like several of the tracks, ends very abruptly.  ‘A Little Light in the Dark’ shows off Lindell’s wide-ranging and emotional voice and the dreamlike song is enhanced considerably by Rasmus Fors’ beautiful organ and some great backing vocals.

In an album of great variety, the highlight may be the beautiful ‘A strange goodbye’, which features US rising star Kazzi Valazza on duet vocals, plus the usual wonderful backing vocals and smooth accordion (Fors again). The change in tone is evident again on ‘Honesty is no excuse’, which opens with a fairground sound which shimmers away in the background. This is Lindell at probably his most Stapleton-like. A word of praise for the band is due here – aside from the aforementioned players, Lindell plays effective acoustic guitar, Jimmy Reimers is on electric and plays a great break on ‘Brunnsvik’. Lindell’s own band is rounded out with Anton Lindell on bass and Simon ‘Kosmos’ Wilhelmsson on drums, and then there are those wondrous horns.

There’s an interesting twist on the last track ‘Do me In’ where the verse is sung in a high falsetto and the chorus in his normal growl, and yet, despite being without the horns still sounds like an ace soul ballad, with a long instrumental fade with keys and piano to the fore.

It closes one of the best blue-eyed soul albums by any artist in recent times and is all the more remarkable given that this is not sung (or indeed written by him} in Lindell’s first language. He has toured Europe extensively and will do again in support of this album but wait till the US audiences get to hear this.  He won’t be below the radar for much longer.