JONAS LINDBERG – The Other Side (2014)
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“The Other Side” by JONAS LINDBERG is one of these albums that almost went unnoticed on specialized magazines and websites, and after listening this terrific piece of work I am scratching my head wondering WHY?
Fortunately, at 0dayrox we have a great crew of collaborators with a strong radar signal and we’re presenting “The Other Side” here exclusively.
Jonas Lindberg is an extremely young and talented Swedish bass player and producer who, in 2008 at the School of Music in Pitea put together a 4-song recording, ‘In Secret Pace’, for an exam project. This involved some gifted friends and musicians, but didn’t see the light of day until released only in Sweden just last year.
When this new record was being planned, Jonas decided that it would be with a 5 piece band and the name came into being, ‘Jonas Lindberg and The Other Side’.
Jonas seems to draw influences from many sources, but there are definite nods in the direction of Neo Prog and AOR, a combination rarely developed in the international Rock scene.
Occurs that you need to have a lot of class to mix Prog & AOR; the progressive fans my hate you for being cheesy, and on the other hand AOR aficionados claim for catchiness and breezy melodies.
Well, let me tell you that Jonas Lindberg and his wonderful crew will please both. You will find yourself listening this little gem over and over again.
Lindberg owns the rarely seen ability to combine elaborated music with a commerciality that escapes from the common ground. Try “Where To Begin” for example. It has a lovely beat and that Rhodes-ish dut-dut keyboard we all love, and a main melody that instantly sticks in your head.
All the members in The Other Side have a strong influence of classic AOR (like Toto) and bands from the new wave of Prog, or Neo Prog. Right on the first track “Lies” we can see that blend. And what an amazing song! It has all the great hooks that a band needs and yet many details for you to get lost in. Great early ’80s mood too.
Jonas and the guys got a weak spot for the uncommon 5/8 time playing, which is heard in several songs. It is dominating in the title track “The Other Side”, which is excellent via luxury patterns but at the same from the multiple harmony vocals and keyboard infusions.
Things get more progressive in “Line no. 18” with some YES vibes in the verse, but it also brings some classic AOR elements all over the superbly crafted arrangements.
“Jonas Lindberg and The Other Side” is simply irresistible.
What a great amount of talent put on disc with a flawlessly ease and class, amazingly written, arranged and played with superb musicianship. If you don’t have enough, Jonas produced the whole thing with an enviable mastery.
“The Other Side” packs five terrific songs, but we added Lindberg’s hard to find first recording – the aforementioned ‘In Secret Pace’ – for your listening pleasure.
At the moment, these CD’s are only available for purchase at Jonas Lindberg website, but believe me, worth every cent.
VERY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
01 – Lies
02 – The Other Side
03 – Where To Begin
04 – Little Girl
05 – Line no. 18
06 – Time Is Wasted For No Reason
07 – Secret Pace
08 – What A View
09 – Overflown Vision
Jonas Lindberg – bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals & programming
Jonas Sundqvist – vocals
Jonathan Lundberg – drums
Calle StĂ„lenbring – guitars
Michael Ottosson – keyboards
BUY IT !
www.lindbergmusic.com
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Thanks for enlightening us about this great artist. Excellent music.
Toby