When a Swedish child is brought up for ten years in Seattle then moves back home to start writing music you know your ears are surely in for a melodious treat. That is a small part of Gustaf Kjellvander's story (a name you may know from bands such as Sideshow Bob and Songs of Soil), an extraordinary artist who performed his first gig of original material at twelve years old. Many years since that debut performance comes Radiola, Kjellvander's fifth album and his second release as The Fine Arts Showcase.

Radiola bursts open with its title track brandishing majestic trumpets and bagpipes, backed by unobtrusive acoustic guitar and adorned with a girl from the '60's saying "Cause music is my whole life, I took singing lessons, guitar lessons, dancing lessons, tap dancing lessons. I tried to learn how to play the drums, I took piano lessons, I…I revolve around music and the people associated with it, and that means all the cute boys", a semi-famous vocal sample taken from the audio-documentary 'The Groupies'. The album then continues to move through the following tracks, each one set apart from the rest through Kjellvander's unique arrangements yet held solidly together through the use of a few common instruments and emotions.

It would have been understandably difficult for The Fine Arts Showcase to interpret so much emotion into the little black dots and squiggles on a music score, and at times throughout the album evidence of this struggle does appear. Often times the songs will open at 100% of their capacity, leaving them no room to move or grow throughout their designated four (or so) minutes. This is the Achilles Heel of Radiola, and at times it will leave the listener feeling unfulfilled, cheated of what the song could have been.

While every track is a solid composition, standouts include the beautifully reminiscent ballad I Don't Worry, Brother in Black a vaguely morbid yet fiercely passionate love song, and the refreshingly upbeat yet doubtfully layered Spanish Kerosene. The Fine Arts Showcase move through each individual song as though it were another bend in the road, continuing on with similar sentiments as the track before, yet all telling their own distinct part of a story. Had a single track been left on the editing room floor it would have left a sorely felt gap in the outcome of the album.

Radiola has been built up on poignant lyricism, captivating instrumentals and enchanting harmonies, a combination that has created a comfortable album with emotions relevant to listeners of any age. Packed full of lyrical gems such as "you'll smell different dear, oh, when your eyes swell with tears and they'll burst and break and somehow come undone" and "I could tell you everything I know, I swear it won't take long, and I could gather hordes of vocal chords and sing the sweetest song" The Fine Arts Showcase have created an album not to be reckoned with. A slice of originality in a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find music that is truly irreplaceable.