ALBUM REVIEW: Miles From Nowhere – Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side

If you’ve not heard of Jonas Lindberg before, then don’t feel foolish; you’re not going to be the only one. A bass player, songwriter and producer, Lindberg originally started the band in 2008 as an exam project in Piteå, Sweden, but put the project on hold when he moved to Stockholm to pursue a career as a freelance musician. In 2012, the music finally saw the light of day as the In Secret Pace EP and, a year later, second EP The Other Side was released too, thus giving the band its full name of JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE. In 2016, the band’s debut record Pathfinder was released to an enthusiastic reception and that inspired Lindberg to begin writing a follow up – now, Miles From Nowhere is released via InsideOut Music on February 18th.

Some people like a challenge with their music, an album to sink their teeth into time and time again, discovering new nuances with every listen that passes; Miles From Nowhere is such an example. Its seven tracks clock in at a mammoth 76 minutes, with three of those songs passing the ten-minute mark considerably. When it comes to the other four, opener Secret Motive Man sees vocalists Jonas Sundqvist and Jenny Storm delighting in their harmonies amidst an understated sense of bombast; there’s a lot here that makes it epic, but it’s delivered without the pomp and circumstance that more symphonic acts tend to do.

Following track Little Man, that started life as an improvised jam session, has been fleshed out into a substantial, 80s pop-orientated, feel-good track that will easily raise spirits and features a very nice guitar solo that could have easily been performed by David Gilmour if he increased the bottom end. Astral Journey is a folk-inspired instrumental track that sees Lindberg play the vast majority of the instrumentation and Why I’m Here – the shortest number present – is reminiscent of latter-day OPETH in terms of its pace and acoustic led nature; Lindberg sings vocals here, with his brother Joel appearing on lead guitar.

But then, there are the epics, which take up 53 minutes of the album on their own. The first, Summer Queen, is very PINK FLOYD throughout; a representation of the four seasons, it opens with keyboards, builds the pace well, rises and falls with big crescendos and electric sections whilst Storm turns in her best performance on the record by a country mile. The following track, Oceans Of Time, is much more serene; Lindberg again is on vocals and there’s a lovely guitar-led passage through the middle, with a flute turning up at the end and immediately giving the song a JETHRO TULL edge that works perfectly.

However, even these two pale in regards to the closing title track, a 25-and-a-half minute monolith that describes the journey back from a failed relationship. Split into five distinct movements, it combines odd time signatures with pieces influenced by THE BEATLES and DEEP PURPLE respectively, adds a dash of RUSH at times for good measure, and finishes with Sundqvist at his absolute best on vocal duties and an immense guitar solo from guest musician Roine Stolt. It’s a beautiful composition throughout and, to date, the best thing Lindberg has ever put his name to.

Whilst this isn’t an album for those who like things simple, the rewards for sticking with it are in abundance. With Miles from Nowhere, the benchmark for everything progressive and AOR-related to appear this year has been set at an astronomically high level; Jonas Lindberg has arrived on the scene in the most stupendous way possible.

Rating: 9/10

Miles From Nowhere is out now via InsideOut Music.

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