Tourniquet
Recording under the Magnet name for a second time, Norway's Even Johansen opens up wellsprings of melody and gushing choruses onThe Tourniquet. As wistfully tuneful asPernice Brothers, but with the shimmering production of something closer toKeane, Johansen's record is broad and grandly romantic. It's also undercut with tiny,Mum-like nips of electronica blips that give the sweeping grandeur a little counterpoint. The record opener "Hold On" especially profits from the contrast, pitting a plucky banjo against laptop pops and a livewire keyboard motif. Meanwhile, the quietly effective "Jaws" lopes through laid-back verses before blossoming into a generous, strings-driven choral build. Johansen gets carried away here and there; "Fall at Your Feet" comes off too sugary sweet, and like a few other songs on the record ("Duracellia"), suffers from underbaked lyrics. While he may not yet have troubadour status, his skills and authority as a singer-songwriter are obvious. But despite being admirably clean and painless, thisTourniquetwould be better off it was just a tad bloodier.–Matthew Cooke