MILES FROM NOWHERE

Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side are a Swedish progressive rock band, and Miles From Nowhere is their 2nd full-length album. I first heard them only recently when a couple of pre-album singles were released promoting the band and new album, and they sounded really good, which was then amplified when I heard the full album. They have a delightful mix of catchy pop melodies and vocal harmonies interspersed with extended progressive passages and intriguing instrumental sections. Jonas plays many of the instruments himself, from bass, guitar, keyboards, and vocals, but with able assistance from the rest of the band, especially the impeccable lead and backing vocals shared by Jonas Sundqvist and Jenny Storm. The expansive album provides over 75 minutes of music, with several extended length tracks, capped off with the epic multi-part album-closing title track (over 25 min. long). Upon repeated listenings of the album, I loved it more and more, and upgraded my ranking from very good to great! The band's influences are clear and present throughout, emulating the style and structure of music provided by Neal Morse and his various bands (Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse Band) and The Flower Kings, among others, and the only criticism I might have is that it may stay a bit too close to those influences, but with music this good it's hard to complain, and it is done with such great style, finesse, and originality that the music itself it transcends those comparisons (Neal himself would be proud to have created such a great album). So, if you are at all a fan of the kind of music played by Neal Morse and his various projects, or just strong melodic progressive rock, you should really like this album. And this is certainly an up and coming band to keep an eye out for what they do next. Best Tracks: 'Miles From Nowhere', 'Summer Queen', 'Astral Journey', 'Why I'm Here'. Weak tracks: None. Rating: 4.0