When I buy a new album and put it on for the first time, I have a method. I grab a some beer, turn down the lights, maybe light a candle and put the music on. That way I can make sure I’m as comfortable as possible so I can absorb new sounds coming from my speakers.

So, last night I sat down with a sixer of Labatt Blue, and put on Per Gessle’s newest release called Son Of A Plumber.

For those of you who don’t know, Per Gessle is the male half (and chief songwriter) of the 80’s/90’s Swedish pup duo Roxette. He’s written many hit pop singles throughout the years including “The Look,” “Joyride,” and “It Must Have Been Love.” Whether you liked Roxette or not, to fully appreciate SOAP you have to go into it with an open mind, not expecting to hear a new Roxette album. Because it isn’t. It’s something so much different – and it’s something very good.

The album opens with a few upbeat tracks including the radio hit “Jo-Anna Says,” which is one of the few tracks on the album which reminds me at all of his work with Roxette. Then it goes into a number of shorter songs that flow into each other in a very similar way as Brian Wilson did with “Pet Sounds” in the late 60’s. Some of them are upbeat like “Speed Boat To Cuba” and some are more ambient, a good example of that being “Double-Headed Elvis.” Every track on the album compliments the one before and after it.

Gessle always says that The Beatles were one of his biggest influences, and you can hear it here. Much of the music seems to be a direct tribute to The Beatles – which I’m sure was in Gessle’s mind as he was writing it. They even get honorable mention in the title of the song “I Never Quite Got Over The Fact That The Beatles Broke Up” – a title which has nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.

Other highlights on the album include the beautiful, haunting instrumentals “Waltz For Woody” and “Kurt, The Fastest Plumber In The West.” There’s some good old-fashioned rock and roll on here too, the best being “Substitute” and “I Like It Like That” which blend very nicely with the dreamy “Late, Later On” and “Carousel.”

I’d recommend this album to anyone who likes rock & roll with a touch of ambiance. It’s a very good album to just sit back and enjoy. It’s a fun album, and I’m looking forward to hearing more music like this from Per Gessle in the future.