“A fashion has come back. Fixed in new version – and here to stay. Imagine Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith and Bob Dylan. Remove 51% old man, two strings and add a new millennium.”
Can you imagine it? Me neither. Never let it be said that I don’t give PR emails the benefit of the doubt, though, because I went ahead and listened to Jonas Asker anyway, and I’m glad I did. Jonas has a beautiful voice [closer to Smith than Cohen or Dylan]. “This Day” showcases it best, supported by nothing more than a lightly echoing guitar and the slightest cello backing. In fact, the Stockholm resident’s brand of fragile acoustic folk is very reminiscent of one Benjamin Francis Leftwich who we’ve featured on the site recently.
Impressively, though, Jonas manages to show more diversity on his untitled, 3 track EP than Ben has on a full length LP. “Rebel Street” is a piano driven, doleful ballad with tasteful self-harmonies on the chorus, featuring some lyrical touches that, in fairness to Jonas’s management, could have been uttered by a deadpan Dylan: “I got news for you: your cause has just been lost.” Meanwhile,”Under The Bridges” [not a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover] flips the script again: it’s an upbeat acoustic ditty with a perky, foot-tapping bassline.
There’s enough promise on this EP to have me looking forward to hearing a full album from Jonas, which should be on its way sometime this autumn. Check out the elegantly shot, black and white video for “This Day” right here, download “Under The Bridges” below and stream the whole EP over on his facebook or bandcamp page.
