Hailing from Sweden, Jesper Lindell has drunk deep from the well of Americana on his second album, Twilights. This is apparent immediately as the swirling organ strains of Westcoast Rain open the album in a grand fashion. An unashamedly Band like romp (with a little Van Morrison Caledonia soul thrown in for good measure) it’s quite terrific with keyboard player, Rasmus Fors getting that Garth Hudson clavinet sound down to a T.

While Lindell ranges around as the album unspools, The Band come around again on a cover of Twilight (from their 1977 album Islands) which features Levon Helm’s daughter Amy on vocals. Again, Lindell and his band capture that essence which Helm and his band mates still had at this late stage in their career. Later on, Lindell lights into another Band like number on Nights Like These, a lovely late night slouch with horns boosting the soul quotient and Lindell exercising his voice quite emotively in a Van Morrison like passion. On another tack, a Bo Diddley beat introduces the dance friendly New Orleans meets Texas shuffle of Dance which has funky Farfisa keyboards and an infectious back line while Living Easy pumps up the syncopated funk factor with the band billowing and swaying, recalling the likes of Lowell George’s solo album.

Reining it in somewhat, Lindell can fuel a fine ballad without ever falling into the trap of being too dramatic. If There Comes A Time is the type of song Bob Seeger could have had a hit with while Christmas Card, which features First Aid Kit’s Klara Soderberg on vocals, finds Lindell and Soderberg sounding both rough and tender over a muted percussive background which gives the song an ethereal quality. The line, “My doctor he says I’m gonna be OK,” may or may not refer to Lindell himself as he was recently seriously ill, eventually requiring a kidney transplant, but the song does express hope with Lindell opening the song with the words, “Things are better now.”

The closing song, Into The Blue, is quite out of kilter with the preceding numbers. An atmospheric seven minute glide into Hiss Golden Messenger territory, it finds Lindell’s voice cranked high, a straining falsetto buffered by martial drumming and rippling guitars. As an exercise in sound, it’s quite wonderful as it meanders towards its fuzzy cosmic conclusion.

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