This unobtrusive little four-song disc is your standard singer/songwriter fare. Mona Nylin is cut from the same cloth as her Swedish colleague Nesrin Sen, although without Sen's way with the big emotional flourish. First you get two piano songs, the second of which, "Child of God", starts with some pretty playing and fairly gentle vocals, before suddenly turning melodramatic, coinciding with a shift in Nylin's vocal timbre that makes her almost sound like a different singer. Far better are the two guitar songs that follow. "Sun is risin' over sea" is a genuinely lovely ode to an ocean sunrise, with gentle picking adorned by just a hint of ethereal keys in the background. The contemplation before nature's majesty could be a means of putting heartbreak in perspective, as Nylin sings "Love will show itself again/Let's go out and make it happen." And "Time for you and me" is a very delicate, humble tune that hints of early Joni Mitchell... So, a bit of a 50/50 prop here, and I'd encourage Mona to stick with the softer of her two voices, as it keeps her sappier tendencies in check.
- Kevin Renick
With the glut of female singer/songwriters from Sweden, It's easy to overlook the less flashy ones, especially if, like Nesrin Sen, they release their work on their own tiny label. But Nesrin's second album is deserving of a wider audience, for she's a gifted artist and a memorable emoter. Though this 10-song platter begins and ends with fairly commercial pop songs (the opening "Here and now" is both catchy and subtly melancholy), in between are some stirring compositions in which Nesrin is both unsparing lyrically and unpredictable. "I'm pissed off, don't know what I'm gonna do with you," she sings over reverberating guitar tones in the darkly acerbic "Called the murder song." Pleasing strings lighten the mood in "As the sun drifts," but then Nesrin packs a solid lyrical/musical punch in "Angel devil and I" by capturing an intensity of feeling that most artists would put a lid on. "You son of a bitch/I hope you die soon/My closest friend." The abrasive but potent honesty makes for a compelling listen, with horns adding to the coolness of the arrangement. Elsewhere, Nesrin sounds like early Joni Mitchell on tunes like "If you were awake" with both the alternate guitar tuning and the deceptively sweet timbre of her voice; she's thoroughly listenable here, and daring enough to extend the track for six minutes. Good stuff...
- Kevin Renick