ONCE THERE WAS

Once There Was is the name of a project by talented Swedish singer/songwriter Jessica Lehto and, a prolific young lady, 'Where Angels Grow' is her third album-length demo, following 2003's 'Painulasjärvi' and 'Demons' which was released in 2006. Aside from the songs that feature contributions on guitar and bass from others, Lehto has been mostly autonomous in writing, arranging, performing and recording just about all the music on 'Where Angels Grow' (although Niklas Lehto is credited with producing 'Black Roses' and 'Dead Dream', and also mixing the final versions of all tracks along with Mikael Eriksson). Musically, songs range from poignant ballads such as the beautifully composed 'All You Are' and 'Laid To Rest' to symphonic goth rock/metal on tracks like 'While Winter Calls' and 'Seasons of the Fall' with its melodically dark undercurrent. With Lehto citing inspirations including The Gathering, Nightwish, After Forever, Enya, and Opeth, all these influences can be heard in one form or another throughout the demo, although in terms of pastiche rather than plagiarism, as her compositions are largely original. However, what's most impressive about this release is Lehto's singing which oozes pure emotional intensities - both melancholically expressive and compellingly provocative. It is tonally similar to the wide vocal range of After Forever's Floor Jansen as she is capable of sustaining a powerful delivery at both the low and high end of her voice. It must also be noted that production-wise, 'Where Angels Grow' is surprisingly good considering it resulted from an amateur home studio. The CD also includes a fairly professional looking booklet which contains some photos of the girl herself and lyrics to all eleven tracks. It's pleasing to see so much effort put into a demo release, and Lehto deserves to go far in the music business through both her talents and professionalism. Put quite simply, this girl needs to be in a band singing on a big stage as soon as possible so her talents can witnessed by more of the world!

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Self-released demo

Album

WHERE ANGELS GROW

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

57:31

RELEASE DATE:

November 2007

TRACK LISTING

1) Mirrors
2) Black Roses
3) Season of the Fall
4) Dead Dream
5) All You Are
6) While Winter Calls
7) Made of Stone
8) Winter Tales
9) Birth of a Demon
10) Laid to Rest
11) Where Angels Grow

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Sweden

"Lehto's singing...oozes pure emotional intensities - both melancholically expressive and compellingly provocative."