Gritty Swedish Blues from Bror Gunnar Jansson
I was just complaining today about “limp-wristed” modern interpretations of hard-edged Southern roots music. This music wasn’t made for a bunch of Northerners to dress up in hokey costumes and sing “quaint” songs about the good ol’ days in the country. This is hard-won music from hard-working folks. So I was more than a little surprised to hear just how intense and gritty this album is from Swedish bluesman Bror Gunnar Jansson. I don’t honestly know too much about him, but good goddamn his music sounds like it’s bubbling out of the deepest pits of human anguish. He plays the kind of fractured, cracked, disturbed Mississippi hill country blues that I’ve always associated with artists like R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford, and I still can’t figure out how some kid in Sweden can sound like this. I guess that’s the beauty of our modern age. True interpreters of Southern roots music can come from anywhere! If they can tap into the molten core of the music, the red heat that made this music so deeply compelling in the first place, then they’ve got my attention for sure!
On his debut album, it’s clear that Jansson belongs in the same company 
as other young channelers of dark Southern roots, like Frank Fairfield, C.W. Stoneking, and The Dust Busters. Sending the liner notes through Google Translate didn’t help too much, but the album seems to be a mix of original and traditional songs. Opening track “Dead Cold Hands,” is an eerie, smoldering wreck of a blues song, and from just this starting track it’s clear that Jansson’s figured out the secret of great blues – don’t be afraid to come close to derailing the song in order to express the emotion. For me, though, the real standout here is a near 7-minute long exploration of “Pretty Polly,” one of the most common Appalachian old-time songs. But I guarantee you’ve never heard it like this. In the hands of Jansson, the song bubbles and roils like lava, almost hot to the touch. I don’t know how well known Bror Gunnar Jansson is in the States, but from listening to this album, I think he deserves to be at the top of the heap of Dark Blues interpreters today. He certainly won’t be stuck in the frozen North of Sweden for long. Not with songs this hot! Seriously, people, book this dude in the States. I want to see him play live!
This post originally appeared on the Hearth Music Blog. Check out our website and roam through our blog and Online Listening Lounge to discover your next favorite artist! We’re dedicated to presenting today’s best Roots/Americana/World musicians.
