Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/22/2006
In a set of explanatory notes published on his website and intended to place his songs into perspective, Swedish
singer/songwriter Tobias Fröberg often makes a point of stressing the casualness of his writing and recording process. One song, he says, was recorded in the open air on a hot July day, the birds chirping above. Another was recorded on his sofa. Yet another was penned after consuming a couple of bottles of wine and still another in a guitar store. Yet despite the presumably easygoing approach to its creation, and its general minimalism,
Somewhere in the City feels neither informal nor tossed off. While simplicity is its hallmark, there are also moments of deceptive complexity: layers of lush
choral vocal harmonies, bold instrumental statements, words that require considerable thought.
Fröberg's gentle
alternative folk-pop has been compared to the likes of
Paul Simon and
Nick Drake (the former is evident, the latter hardly), and contemporary benchmarks might include
Devendra Banhart,
Damien Rice, and
Bright Eyes. But there's no real reason to play spot the influence here:
Fröberg is an original and
Somewhere in the City, the artist's second album, is a delicious trifle. Nearly every instrument is played by
Fröberg and his co-producer,
Linus Larsson, and although a few guests are brought on board (Norway's
Ane Brun sings a duet with
Fröberg on
"Love and Misery"), this is clearly not a group effort.
Fröberg's skillful acoustic guitar work (again, as on
"God's Highway," reminiscent of
Simon's, particularly his early
folk style) is smartly placed up front throughout most of the recording, miked closely and used wisely to set the pensive, sometimes melancholy mood. And that's where
Fröberg feels most comfortable: in quiet reflection. When the album does, on occasion, raise its volume and venture toward
rock, it feels lost, the lone exception being
"When the Night Turns Cold," the opening, bongo-driven
pop gem that, for some inexplicable reason, was used in a European ad for Panasonic cameras.
~Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide
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