Magnet

Any old fool can strum his guitar real hard and sing in his upper register about loves lost and found, but few and far between are the talents who can convey the same energy and emotion with just a well-crafted melody and a few choice juxtapositions of acoustic guitar and synthesizer. One such talent is Norway's Evan Johansen, who records under the name Magnet. Johansen's debut Magnet release, 2004's On Your Side, was a pleasant but unremarkable exercise in electro-folk, notable mostly for a surprisingly credible cover of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay." But Tourniquet, his sophomore effort, is a revelation. Mixing the melodrama of Rufus Wainwright, the melancholy of Keane, and the impeccable pop songcraft of Badly Drawn Boy, Johansen has fashioned a near-perfect collection of radio-friendly rock ballads. The album's only real drawback is its limited scope; Johansen is clearly more concerned here with consistency than with versatility, which can make Tourniquet a dreary listen unless you're really in an introspective, rainy-day mood.

Because of that consistency, Tourniquet tends to wash over you as an undigested whole, almost more like a good ambient electronica album -- and indeed, outside of Johansen's voice and guitar and some discreetly deployed strings, most of Tourniqet's production sounds like it was generated on computers and synthesizers. On repeated listens, however, the album begins to reveal the parts of its sum -- the gentle reggae beat that underpins "All You Ask," the Brian Wilson homage that is the fadeout of "Hold On," the sweet country lope and space cowboy synths of "Duracellia." The album's production is nearly as tasteful as Johansen's songwriting.

There are future O.C. soundtrack moments aplenty on Tourniquet -- most notably the soaring but somehow pedestrian "Fall at Your Feet" -- but Magnet is at his best when he lets his arresting melodies do most of the talking. He does this best on "Hold On" and, ironically, the album's one U.S. bonus track, "This Bird Can Never Fly," which has an irresistible hook and a chorus that earns its big, sweeping arrangement. This Norwegian may sing in melancholy tones, but his future looks pretty bright to me. -- Andy Hermann

Even Johansen's second album under the Magnet moniker is a lushly produced collection of dreamy bedroom ballads. The Tourniquet compares favorably to efforts from Johansen's singer/songwriter peers such as Josh Rouse, Ron Sexsmith, and Jason Falkner; the latter's fingerprints are all over the album as a producer and general collaborator. While syrupy tunes like "Fall at Your Feet" and "Miss Her So" might paint Magnet as an unhip, dreamy confectioner, listeners weaned on heart-on-their-sleeve artists like Keane, Rufus Wainwright, and David Gray will find the confessionalist footing here quite familiar. Gray's White Ladder-style electronic-gurgling undercurrent is a clear influence on these 11 tracks, but counting the bpm would be a mistake, because the album has an acoustic heart underneath its electronic sheen. Magnet's calling cards are tales of lost loves, earnest lullaby-like vocals, and a slowly strummed guitar. The strongest moments come with the opener and closer, but everything that flows between them ebbs and flows with grace and restraint. While this restraint adds to the album's cohesive feel, it wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing if Johansen had returned to the bite of "Hold On" a bit more. It's not always a good idea to sequence an album's strongest track first. But there's little reason to nitpick given that The Tourniquet is such a smooth, delightful whole. [The 2006 re-release on Filter adds a bonus track: "This Bird Can Never Fly."] ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide