May Day Fereltone**
If there's an international equivalent of James Blunt for every country in the world, then Peter Von Poehl is Sweden's representative.

True, the singer-songwriter/ producer may not write songs as trite as Blunt’s, but there are definite comparisons to be drawn: a nasal, reedy voice; dabblings in vapid acoustic folk-pop; the strange cadence of the lyrics.

Yet Von Poehl also takes more chances with his music, although his experiments are nothing short of embarrassing when they fall flat, as heard on the drippy Lost in Space. When he reins in the pointless meandering, however, the Swede does manage some snappy brass-enhanced pop tunes ( Parliament, Moonshot Falls). The problem is that by the time humdrum ballad Elisabeth brings the album to a lifeless close, we've already stopped caring. www.peter vonpoehl.com

Download tracks: Moonshot Falls, Parliament