Tobias Froberg Navigates the City

The beauty of Somewhere In The City, Tobias Froberg's sophomore LP, comes from its ability to travel without a road map. Throughout the album, Tobias continually remains "somewhere," while in turn allowing himself to be everywhere. By refusing to pin himself to one point on the globe, a pitfall of many current singer songwriters, Somewhere In The City builds upon itself with each song sung, yet remains seamless as an album.

The genre of post-adolescent, love sick, singer songwriter is full of some pretty sad characters. A virtual army of Zach Braff soundtrack clons, and shiver inducing artists like Cary Brothers and Joshua Radin. However, like a wirery boxer, Tobias is able to duck and dodge any such company, by creating a sound that jabs left every time you look right. This is especially true on some of his simpler song like "Oh My Love (Here She Comes Again)." The song simmers for a while, but suddenly a beautiful vocal melody ascends that brings the remainder of the song with it.

Tobias' Swedish origins also play a part in my experience with Somewhere in the City. Hearing a foreign perspective on songwriting keeps my eardrums fresh. I hear this most in "When the Night Turn Colds," which adopts a Jackson 5 vibe, but infuses the song with its own brand of soul.

Tobias' largest success comes in his ability to capture the essence of Paul Simon. Song's like "God's Highway" and "Somewhere in the City' have the trademark chugging bass and storytelling vocals that make Graceland one of the greatest achievements in modern songwriting.

Nathaniel at IGIF first brought Tobias Froberg to my attention, and the album marks one of my first trips back into relaxing music. I had just come off a two month binge of Wolf Eyes, The Plot and Blood Brothers.

Enjoy the mp3 below and be sure to buy the album here or here

[mp3] Tobias Froberg - God's Highway