While
Titiyo
might never re-create the sheer visceral shock of her debut album, still nobody could ever accuse Sweden's queen of
soul
of standing still. Following up from the self-produced excursion that was her third album,
now links with
Cardigans
/
Kent
supremos
Peter Svensson
and
Joakim Berg
for an album that carves her so-remarkable voice into its rockiest surroundings yet. She credits her recent discovery of
Radiohead
,
Jeff Buckley
, and even
Soundgarden
for pushing her in this new direction, and that may be. The influence that hangs most heavily, however, is another
Svensson
Berg
project,
Paus
; indeed,
Come Along
started life as nothing more than an English-language revision of that entire album. Instead, the pair presented her with an entire new collection of songs and wound up with a set that leaves
itself in the dust. The opening title track sets the scene, a sultry
post-blues
number infused with just enough of
's trademark dance sensibility to mask (but never bury) the distinctly
PJ Harvey-esque
feel of the song itself. Later,
"My Heart Won"
takes a similar brew, but this time has no compunction whatsoever about pushing
into some defiantly scratchy territory, even as it continues to acknowledge her
urban R&B
roots and reputation. A few nods in the general direction of
trip-hop
also offer respite to fans puzzled by the omnipresent guitars, while
"Last Time"
is a showstopping
ballad
that would have sounded great on any of her past albums -- a point that is proven by the bonus addition of
"Josefin Dean"
(from 1998's
Extended
) to U.S. pressings of
. A major European hit at the time, it's a swirling
blues
that, at the time, posited one of several future directions suggested by that album. Its seamless inclusion on
suggests
took the correct one. ~ Dave Thompson