Swedish singer-songwriter Jon-Olov Woxlin impresses with One-Way Ticket from Earth, an intimate new album rooted in country, blues, and jazz, recorded live over a few days in his home kitchen in Gothenburg this October. Often featuring no-frills productions though rich in feeling, the release captures his songwriting in its most direct, unguarded form. His 2023 album Junk Trunk caught our ears with its consistent high-quality songwriting, and that impressive trait continues here, with One-Way Ticket from Earth.
“How Did It Come To This?” opens the album with heartrending vulnerability, as Woxlin’s vocals begin amidst solemn acoustics: “I am weak, I crumble like a house of cards / When I speak, it’s like a shadow in the dark.” Ensuing desires to be saved by “some unearthly” force continue to convey a sense of desperation as one finds themselves in personal tumult, pushing to the title-bearing questioning and admissions of one’s mind “being slow” and “the ground is cold, and it’s not where I belong” — though pushing forward with an “I must be strong” ethos. Its bluesy and folk intertwining exude a simultaneous down-on-your-luck moroseness and perseverant spirit.
The ensuing “Corona Corona” embraces the blues realm further, with debonair guitar progressions and sharp vocal work — cautioning to “stay inside, lock up that door.” The “you can get it” catchy remarks, to the virus in the track’s namesake, captures a serious moment in time though within a punchy, no-frills ardor. “Folly of Man” continues the album’s strong start — which never lets up — and also showcases Woxlin’s more tender songwriting arsenal. “I have gone through many ups and downs / Now I’m facing another bitter frown,” he lets out, continuing with a poetic insight of being unable to recognize oneself following trials and tribulations. The addition of strings past the first minute bolsters the affecting vocals and guitars with a warming, nostalgic allure.
Another standout track, “Lonesome Loner” weaves twangy guitar tones with a stately vocal tone, depicting “another night without no love to give” — yearning for companionship and positive reception, though received with only “rejections and loud hisses” and resulting in tears and loneliness. A touch of Johnny Cash pervades in the gripping vocal tone and steady acoustic-laden production. “Woman” also delights in its perspective lyricism, bridging bluesy guitar prancing and poignant commentary on how “many plays with everything he can fit in his wealthy hands” — societally introspective, a la Billy Bragg.
Album finale “A Storm Is Coming Closer” closes with satiating impact, effective in its “I will endure” proclamation — playing like a continued reflection of the opening “How Did It Come To This?” and its “must be strong” spirit; the album’s book-ends bring forth this theme of perseverance with especially consuming qualities, and the album as a whole invigorates with Jon-Olov Woxlin’s viscerally strong songwriting throughout.
