Fridays is the second album from Swedish singer songwriter Jonatan Fast. Described in the hand out as a younger Neil Young, with a dab of Paul Westerberg & Tom Petty’ so no danger here of not raising expectations!! Ex-saxophone player Jonatan Fast was born and bred in a small town, Lycksele in Swedish Lapland and now resides in Stockholm. 

A few years ago he put his saxophone up for sale and formed independent record label Raindrop Records together with his older brother Tobias – his ‘weapons of choice were now guitar and voice’.

And the results are an engaging mix Swedishacana. The record starts strongly with the guitar driven ‘Waiting Breathing’ which could have been lifted from a Replacements record- using two lead guitars of Mattias Annerdal and Andreas Rydman it’s a blistering start. It’s either a strength of the record or it’s weakness that Jonatan sounds like Danny Whitten, Tom Petty and a younger Neil Young. 

Most of the songs sound like stable country/Americana fodder but bearing in mind that Jonatan hails from Sweden he is to be congratulated on producing such an excellent record – whilst it’s a record that wears its influences on its sleeve songs like ‘Midnight Sun’ & ‘Too Many Times Now’ are clear indicators that Jonathan has absorbed American music, and come out the other side as his own man.
/Andy Riggs,
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