Meet Jens Carelius.  Jens, my friends, is from Oslo.  That’s in Norway.  And as Jens will tell you, he sings the blues.

Aside from the devilishly throw back album cover, Carelius’ approach harkens back to the 70s folk and blues writing.  But to ignore the fact that he sounds almost exactly like Nick Drake, both in instrumentation and in vocals, would simply be foolish.  From that sense, Carelius is not really creating anything original; rather, he is entering territory that has been trod quite frequently yet unsuccessful.

The First Songs is more like a collection of some excellently concocted posthumous Nick Drake masterpieces.  But before I begin to proffer too much praise, Carelius does fall short.  Part of it stems from the fact that this music is too familiar.  Part of it stems from the fact that the mystery of Nick Drake should remain one–and his all too similar voice almost ruins that intrigue.  Nevertheless, The First Songs is worth more than a listen.D

Details about purchasing this album have been scant, but check his myspace.

Listen to “Song #1” (4.8/5)

Listen to “Summer Skin” (4.6/5)