Setting aside, temporarily, his collaborative work with Chatham County Line, Norway’s Jonas Fjeld enters the fray once more with a brand new long player by the name of ‘Hustrig’. Initially, there is a sense of “warts and all” to the recording of Jonas Fjeld’s latest effort once the opening ‘Oddemans Vise’ rubs the sleep from its eyes, checks the current take of the song, and clocks the time before readjusting itself and then proceeding to tweak the first few bars of its intro on the trusty acoustic at hand. It’s as natural a start as one could achieve, and probably the closest you’ll feel to Jonas Fjeld the recording artist. From then on in the sound becomes richer, with the rather colourful guitar illuminating ‘Ild Og Vann’, while doffing its hat to the Edge (U2) and combining this with the thinnest of country strands to produce an absolute mesmerising experience. ‘Opp Med Himmelporten’ follows a similar pattern with its uplifting mood supplied by the country-rock feel of its guitars and fullness of the vocals during its chorus. There is a wonderful rolling tempo to ‘Midtveis,’ with Jonas Fjeld’s vocal in fine husky form and complemented by the soothing backing vocals. The impression given during ‘Ei Hustrig Natt’ (‘A Cold Grey Night’) is pensive, but one that is far removed from anything gloomy as its song title suggests, as the song performs at mid-tempo with piano and light swirls of Hammond organ often dictating over the rest of the instrumentation. The introduction of piano at various turns throughout ‘Hustrig’ – most prominent during the near-solitary ‘Stillheten’ and close sibling ‘Lampedusa’, which deviates nicely via some cascading (space) rock guitar where the glitter is flying momentarily – is a likely source of influence from producer Thomas Helland, considering his own work under the shortened version of Thom Hell where use of piano is strongly featured. Clearly enjoying something of an Indian summer as far as the creativity goes, Jonas Fjeld delivers yet another top-notch album that reveals moments of intimacy yet remains wise enough to retain some considerable distance.

With this being her second album at the still relatively tender age of twenty-one, Swedish singer-songwriter Ellen Sundberg remains close to her roots by continuing to reside in the small village of Bjärme, Sweden, where she sets out her creative ideas. The latest instalment is ‘White Smoke And Pines’; ten songs influenced by alt. country and folk music and performed in English, with the exception of one song title scribbled in her native language and being the musically bright, ‘Vägen är lång (The Road Is Long)’. This sophomore effort has the head of an experienced character, but it is one that is still struggling with the complexities of life as evidenced by the reflective tempo and narrative of ‘What Is Life’. With this opening track hinting at a darker core in relation to this album, such suggestions become fully realised with the intensely personal duo of ‘Hollow’ and ‘Maze of Shadows’, both set to the barest of instrumentation. With such examples penetrating deep beneath the skin, Sundberg spins a broader yarn with the inbound train journey breathing out a combination of her own personal thoughts that cease at various interludes to reflect on the variety of characters also on board, which makes for enthralling listening. No doubt the intimate feel of the majority of songs assembled for ‘White Smoke And Pines’ will translate even more acutely during Sundberg’s current live tour, where there will be room for improvisation if the mood takes her there considering the rolling narratives. As its press release accurately sums up: ‘It’s not always the most comfortable place to be, but very rewarding’ because albums don’t come much more confessional than Ellen Sundberg’s ‘White Smoke And Pines’.

‘Starting Over Again’ is the name of the record and where Norwegian artist Ida Jenshus currently finds herself. With a great desire to change her working habits after three successful albums and winner of three Spellemannpriser (Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy) for her creative endeavours, Ida Jenshus set out on a path of new discovery. Retaining the services of producer Kåre Vestrheim was the only remainder of her past, as Ida Jenshus set to task the songs for ‘Starting Over Again’. The precursor to this latest long player from Ida Jenshus was last year’s ‘Let It Go’ EP that contained the audacious ‘Shallow River’ as it played out over three segments. With this latest album, Ida Jenshus continues where the former EP left off, with songs stretching over the six minute mark, barring a couple of exceptions, and packed with great details. Take for example the title track with its Joni Mitchell inspired vocals set to a delicate rhythm that gradually adds more flesh to its bones as the song progresses via harmonica and atmospheric sounding guitars. ‘Set Us Free’ is blessed with more fine vocals and takes a more direct approach musically, compared to the drawn out nature of quite lengthy ‘Changes / What Is Time?’ for example. Never an easy task the process of reinvention, but Ida Jenshus appears to have cracked it with her latest album ‘Starting Over Again’.

Providing food for thought, Canadian Robbob’s second album is ingeniously constructed along a central theme of food and quite possibly a love-hate relationship with this subject considering the album’s artwork depicting Godzilla confronting the traditional Canadian (junk) dish of poutine. Having fallen in love with the vibrancy of the neighbourhood of Limoilou, Robbob set about forming a backing band by the name of Limoilou Libre Orchestra consisting of Samuel Poirier (upright bass), Jean-Sébastien Gauthier (lap-steel guitar) and backing singers the Robbobettes. In addition to the recording of this sophomore album, the Everlovin’ Jug Band provided assistance with two of the songs, making this long player a genuine team effort rather than a personal pursuit. While ‘Godzilla Vs. Poutine’ is a record full of novelty songs, it’s a project worth taking seriously for the manner in which the songs are constructed around predominantly country and folk music and then injected with smart and witty lyrics evoking memories of a genre that rose in popularity during the post-war years. Such nuggets can be found once the aftermath of the city rubble clears (It’s a Godzilla thing!) with deep consideration given to the body parts of a heron with ‘Starin’ At A Heron’; the chuggin’ guitar adding to the catchy tempo of the album’s title track, and saucy narrative of ‘Yodelling For Your Noodles’ complete with Hawaiian sway are enough to keep the poutine at bay. Even song ideas such as ‘Hug A Slug’ probably shouldn’t be seated at the table but it remains the delivery of the song that compels, with Robbob and the Robbobettes finding great form vocally. It’s the seriousness of the musicianship that helps to provide an even balance to the frivolous nature of the lyrics that makes ‘Godzilla Vs. Poutine’ a refreshing release indeed.

Despite earning a living as an architect, the name Kjell Reianes is associated with music in his native Norway due to a long-held ambition to break into an otherwise competitive market. The breakthrough arrived in 2011, at the ripe old age of sixty-one, with the appropriately titled ‘Aldri For Seint’ (‘Never Too Late’). Significant to this breakthrough was the start of a working relationship with Kaizers Orchestra’s Janove Ottesen, who was responsible for arranging and producing Reianes’ debut offering. Sixty solo gigs later, and various collaborations with numerous artists, Kjell Reianes made the transition from tinkering away with his musical compositions in his spare time, to a full-time commitment, which has resulted in a second album, ‘Ringer I Vatn’. The aforementioned working partnership with Janove Ottesen was reignited for this second outing, with Ottesen taking up production duties once more, in addition to a select few musicians – Ola Kvernberg, Mads Falck Berven, Jarle Vespestad and Eirik Are Oanes Anderssen – being added to the ranks in order to fully realise the ideas behind ‘Ringer I Vatn’. First impressions is that such qualified experience really lends itself to Kjell Reianes latest release, with opening number ‘Lukk Opp Ditt Øye’ sounding as if it was recorded in one take, where instruments are still in the process of warming up before eventually proceeding ahead. There is a pared-back sound to the majority of this latest work, with mainly acoustic instrumentation providing the rhythms to Reianes reflective lyrics where songs such as ‘Bare Ein Gang Te’ and ‘Evig Din’ would not be out of place on a busy side street populated with cafés  somewhere in Paris. Keys are added to the duo of ‘Virvelvind’ and ‘Bossanova’,   which gives the former song a slightly quirky feel whereas the latter is light and breezy. Reianes engaging dialect really captures the sentiment at the heart of ‘Du E Min Eine’ to great effect, and is but one reason why the breakthrough eventually had to happen for this wonderful talent.

There’s a predominantly western swing flavour to the icing coating the Austrian mountain ranges by way of ‘You’re My Sugar’. The band at the centre of this swinging sound is Fia Sco & The Majestics who seem to have exchanged their Austrian roots for something a bit more American. Such a suggestion becomes even clearer when hearing the added musical ingredients consisting of hillbilly and country, with a definite rockin’ attitude thrown in for good measure. The spark which ignites this album into life, however, is the rolling tongue of Fia Sco’s vocal delivery, which then proceeds to dominate opening ditty ‘Ice Water’ and continues in similar style throughout the rest of this album. There’s no doubting Sco’s presence here as she comes across as a charismatic front figure by breathing life into the songs, with her vocal providing a throwback to another era. All of this talent would not be possible without experienced hands, which comes by way of The Majestics with titles to rival their magnetic songstress and therefore deserving of a mention, so step forth Colonel Rib Kirby (lead/rhythm guitar), Don De Vil (double bass), Big Honzo (steel guitar) and Ray Hammer (drums). With such a force in place, Fia Sco & The Majestics simply can’t fail which is evident from the tight rhythm and quick vocal delivery of ‘Dynamite’ and choo-choo boogie of ‘She’s Gone, Gone, Gone’. With ‘You’re My Sugar’ being a covers fest, pick of the bunch has to be the Howard Stamford and Danny Mitchum composed ‘Hey, Mr. Cotton Picker’ and (at last!) clever spin on Jerry Reed’s excellent ‘Mr Whizz’ to a feminist friendly renamed, ‘Misses Whiz’. Once the locals of their native Austria catch wind of these western flavoured numbers, the icecaps are likely to melt such is the heat stemming from ‘You’re My Sugar’ and, more notably, the talent at the heart of this record.