Mikael Persson
Album: Marks & Bleeds
Label: Paraply
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.myspace.com/mickepersson

I've said this a lot recently, there is a lot of really good music coming from Scandinavian artists at the moment. It might be that it's always been there, but the web means we now get to hear more of it or there's a golden generation coming through, whatever the reason, long may it continue. Some of the artists are choosing to primarily record in their native languages, others, as is the case with Mikael Persson, take the English route.

"Marks & Bleeds" comes in very much on a soft rock, country rock wave, delivered with a dark, almost Bowiesque vocal and actually thinking about it, there's a few atmospheric tricks within songs like "Room Of The Virgins" that remind you of the arthouse touches he used to incorporate in his songs, though in more of a country, blues setting, if that makes sense.

Hard is a term that applies to a lot of "Marks & Bleeds", from the pounding of the percussion, the swirling Hammond, the at times gritty nature of the songs, hard drinking, hard carousing combined with that psychological element that drama from the region is renowned for, though that's not to say the album isn't without touches of humour.

"Marks & Bleeds" is an album that proudly wears its scars. Mikael Persson is not an artist that compromises, if something is gritty then it's gritty, no need to hide behind euphemisms, why not be more honest than that. Often the scars we inflict on the inside irritate more than those that we can see. This is not an album for the feint hearted, it is an album that rewards effort.

Neil King