Following this week’s ELO theme, Swedish natives Göran Hjertstedt and Ulf Holmberg’s new group Longplayer follows Jeff Lynne’s approach to production and songwriting style pretty closely. Combining strings and synths, they start with an impressive instrumental “Space Place Cafe” and dive right into the boogie beat with “Won’t Let You Down” which recalls ELO’s “Hold On Tight.” And the albums first half brings us some excellent gems like “The Messenger” and “Silicone Sue.” Göran’s vocal sound is closer to Bev Bevan’s ELO Part 2 than the original – but the songwriting is strong and the hooks are plentiful throughout.
The songs begin to loose their catchiness when they veer into “The Traveller” and “Cool Cat Walk” but the production is still polished and worth repeat listens. The missteps here are “Wild Wild Woman,” a full fifties do-wop ballad and a forgettable “The Power.” It ends on a high note with “Red Wall Of Sound” a nice reworking of “Rock And Roll is King.” This album is great fun and highly recommended to ELO and power pop fans.