Morning Train

With his soft soul containing a lot of acoustic guitars, Lemma, just like Van Morrison, approaches the Southern soul tradition from a European position. This has resulted in a record where the melodies are important, something that, together with the old sound, makes Lemma different from most modern soul artists. There is also another way, if not as positive, in which Lemma reminds one of Morrison, and that is in his use of clichés. The lyrics rely very much on railroad tracks and nightingales. But in spite of the singer/songwriter atmosphere on this album (the acoustic guitar plays a part here), it's the music and not the lyrics that is central. Morning Train is extremely well produced, with Lemma's warm, fast vibrato backed by organs, guitars, and an occasional accordion, soothing and gentle like the sea (those clichés can be used in reviews, too). It could be argued that the album does not contain any of the high-energy, up-tempo soul that Lemma has showed himself capable of live, and only "Something Evil" and the radio hit "If I Used to Love You" actually differ from the majority of songs in character. But if the album is a bit too gentle and not very varied, that is easily forgiven every time you're in the mood for a pleasant album, for — without any irony whatsoever — this album is simply extremely pleasant. ~ Lars Lovén, Rovi