It's always rather random as to what cds you will get for Christmas, particularly in the day and age of albums being freely and somewhat illegally available on the world wide web. So colour me surprised when Swedish singer Evan's sophomore album "Under Your Spell" landed under my tree. And colour me three shades of delighted when I listened to it and it was actually quite marvellous! Despite looking like the owner of a leather bar in Gran Canaris, Evan has an incredible amount of talent when it comes to producing music. He has worked with Bodies Without Organs and Agneta Falgstok and is now focusing on his own music. Lead off single Under Your Spell sounds like a glorious orgy between Erasure, Pet Shop Boys and Bodies Without Organs while Alcazar are filming. It's that good. Swirling synths, pulsating beats and a vocal that dips between falsetto and baritone all make this a familiar yet unique listening experience. The Moment I Miss You shows he can do love and regret equally as well as the next person as does current single Nobody Else Like You, while Dance With Me is a dancefloor stomper that has yearning lyrics and tragic love as it's undertone. Indeed poor Evan seems to have had a rough trot as unrequited love and heartbreak is the theme running throughout this lyrically downbeat yet musically uplifting album. Simply glorious and one I'll be checking back in on, on a much more regular basis…
