Famed for his androgynous image, Swedish Idol contestant
Johan Palm, who finished fourth behind
Kevin Borg, Alice Svensson, and Robin Bengtsson in 2008, has eschewed the adult contemporary rock and pure pop output of his higher-placed counterparts in favor of an authentic indie sound he first displayed through his talent show performances of songs by
the Cure,
Coldplay, and
Suede. His debut album,
My Antidote, co-written with the likes of
Niclas Frisk (
A Camp), Peter Kvint (
Andreas Johnson), and
the Motorhomes'
John ME, certainly has a pretty credible pedigree, but
Palm's expressive and attitude-laden vocals, which sit somewhere between the seductive angst of early
Brett Anderson and the girlishly rasping tones of
Delays' Greg Gilbert, also add to the alternative nature of its ten tracks. Flashes of kaleidoscopic synths may kick off the opening track "Teenage Battlefield," but it bears the only electronic touch on an album, which wears its influences of the mid-'90s Brit-pop era firmly on its sleeve. The impossibly infectious "Emma-Lee," a number one in his homeland for three weeks, recalls the jangly guitar pop of '60s backbeat revivalists
Cast, the gorgeous "All the Time in the World" echoes the sweeping anthemic balladry of
Shed Seven, and the driving
Beatles-like singalong "You're Killing Me" could have been lifted from
Oasis' much-maligned Be Here Now. Elsewhere, there are shades of
Parklife-era
Blur ("More to Her Than Meets the Eye"),
the Bluetones ("Come On"), and
Suede ("Danger Danger"), while the album's few contemporary-sounding efforts also have a distinctly British feel, such as the melodic,
Embrace-ish title track and the chiming guitars and pounding rhythms of the
Snow Patrol-inspired closing number "Let the Dream Begin."
My Antidote doesn't live up to the quite ambitious
David Bowie comparisons the supremely confident
Palm has reportedly claimed, but it's an energetic and lively first offering which provides a welcome alternative to the schlager pop-influenced material usually associated with Swedish Idol alumni. ~ Jon O'Brien