Poor Kristofer Åström has had more than his fair share of heartache. The songs spanning the Swedish singer songwriter's ongoing 15 year career are reminders of the old adage that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Unfortunately, A pattern quickly emerges of a man all too accustomed to the pain of being too often on the losing end. Even when things in a relationship seem to be going well, he is forever plagued by the kind of self doubt expressed in All Lovers Hell :"I gotta start believing that you really love me"
This sampler album cherry picks 19 tracks eight albums and four EPs. The bold claim is that there are "no bad eggs in his catalogue" so it is not billed as a 'best of' compilation. Rather, it is designed as a 'welcome to my world' mix tape for those (of whom I am one) who have never previously heard of him.
No attempt has been made to present the material in chronological order so it begins, somewhat perversely, with Leaving Song from 2001 and closes with the sprawling seven and half minute Defender which first appeared on a different album in the same year.
In between, there are three tracks apiece from his 1998 debut, Go, Went, Gone and 2012's From Eagle To Sparrow.
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The songs, all sung in English, range from stripped back acoustic laments to more up-tempo electric folk tunes in which piano and strings feature prominently.
On forthright tunes like Twentyseven and the catchy Just A Little Insane the assertive tone offers a respite from his irritating habit of posing self-pitying questions like "Why does it have to happen to me?"(Conjure Me).
Though he vowed in 2003 to live with "no more romances" (One Good Moment), songs with titles like Is It Really Over? and Queen of Sorrow from 2004 and 2011 respectively, tell a different tale. In the latter he can at least console himself with the thought that "I'm keeping my head above water".
Overall, it's a mixed bag with overly repetitive subject matter in which the best of the bunch have vague echoes of Elliot Smith while the low points reminded me of James Blunt.
Kristofer Åström's website
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