Swedish singer-songwriter Kristofer Åström maintains his actively productive solo track record of the last decade (not to mention releases from band Fireside) with an album taking a random walk across a landscape somewhere between four cardinal points labelled Acadie-era Daniel Lanois, Snow Patrol, J. Tillman, and fairly generic US teen rock. And, as far as I (and Google translate) can determine, Sinkadus is named after (the lead character I presume of) an old Swedish TV gangster underworld/heist series. Must be some kind of cult TV thing up there.The album starts intriguingly with the fuzzy tunings of the band warming up and the mysterious warped Americana sound of Lanois, before settling into the growling, chugging, rhythm of 'Come out'. So far so good, but the epic dusky big sky, wind in the hair vibe is cut short by the subsequent cut - a bass heavy rumbling emo number revolving around shenanigans at a teenage party whilst the parents were away. Just seems out of place, and to emphasise and confirm this it's followed by a reflective time-to-move-on acoustic number. Next up, Gary Lightbody apparently subs for 'Twentyseven'. A constant driving back-beat gradually builds, as they do, into a semi-spectacular climax: the mature restraint then on display and the vocalised regret at the passing of the years only serving to paint that teenage party track in an even worse light. Subtle but distinctive female backing vocals break up the sound here as elsewhere on the album and make the overall samey sound much more palatable to digest in one sitting. A guitar rock-lite middle of crunchy guitars and melodic choruses is rescued only by frantic tambourine (always a winner with me), and that unidentified female(s). Not bad - just nothing special. The last of said brace of songs terminates by switching into a completely different song for a minute, that turns out to be alternatively arranged snippet of the following track. It's almost the best brooding minute of the album. The actual 'Hard To Live' is more strung out and drier in Vacilando Territory Blues style laid over a contrasting visiting electro beat, which speeds up but remains for a lighter sounding cover of Philip Lynott's 'A Song For While I'm Away'. The seven and half minutes of gentle folky Americana that is 'Me & The Snakes' is too long, but it's still in the handful of better tracks on the album. The hints of sonic experimentation present at various points find some expression with 'Oh, Man'. Best cut by a mile - the only one that forces you to listen - generating a degree of intensity through intimate confessional whispering and sparse acoustic atmospherics, even if it fades without delivering the anticipated emotional knockout punch. Instead, the album closes with almost sing-along melancholy of dustbowl harmonica and acoustic guitar.A generally airy feel, always melodic, and mixing loud (but never wild) with quiet (but never totally arresting), there are glimpses of more depth and passion, but this album fails to grab hold. It skims past euphoria and desolation without energising or subduing - the circuit is never closed convincingly between musician and listener. Without wishing to damn with faint praise: a pleasant enough listen and that is all. 61%Kristofer Astrom on MySpace