Joey Fever - In A Fever (Lp), Reggae/dancehall/rnb/club Music From Sweden

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Joey Fever official website) Swedish singjay Joey Fever is a very talented individual. English is not his first language yet he is as gifted a lyricist as Gentleman or the Netherlands' Maikal X -while possessing an anguished,yearning nasal singing voice somewhere between ex-UB40 frontman Ali Campbell and Jah Cure.

British listeners may recall his appearance (along with X) on Tippa Irie's Lockdown Productions release the UK Flu Riddim. Now Lockdown has put out his debut album,produced mainly by Sweden's Mastah L,featuring an eclectic choice of rhythms that deftly walk the one drop/dancehall divide.

Opening ballad Someone Out There showcases Mr Fever-as-soulful-singer before second track Till The Night is Over demonstrates his rapid deejay skills -talking us through every aspect of an evening out at a dance.

But technical gifts aside what marks Joey out is a dark and socially conscious lyrical bent. Sweden has an international reputation as a nation concerned with societal issues and songs like How Easy,Game On (featuring the extraordinary tones of fellow Swede Mary Ndiaye) and Traffic do this image no harm as Joey tells of the dangers of greed,drug addiction and sex slavery. Even the straight love tunes such as Slippin' And Slidin' hint at shadowy pasts of physical and alcohol abuse.

Yet it's not all angst and burden from start to end. Good Looks,on the aforementioned Flu,lightens the mood. Likewise bonus track Deejay School -which revisits the themes of originality and versatility passed down by Tippa and other foundation MCs (mocking the AutoTune saturation by soaking Joeys' voice in the device to comic effect).

The endorsement of the likes of Tippa (as well as Curtis Lynch) ought to be enough to make most reggae fans sit up and take notice. And,in a year already replete with impressive debuts,this strong and promising first outing should do the rest.

Written by Angus Taylor

https://joeyfever.believeband.com/