Peter H. Nilsson Puts Together An AOR Classic With Little American Dream

Peter H. Nilsson is a guitarist and keyboard player from Gothenburg Sweden which is technically on the country's west coast. So maybe he's naturally inclined to understand and produce this old staple of American music.

His new album "Little American Dream" is produced to near perfection. The sound is a mix of west coast California style rock and what I like to call night time driving AOR. This is the stuff you crank as you make your way down the highway at 2 AM. The first track "You Better Run" is a hypnotic 7 minute guitar manifesto. Right away you get the sense that Nilsson is not the least bit concerned about playing it safe.

The next song is slightly more conventional. A mid tempo straight forward moody rocker called "Me And You" with a big "hey" chorus tucked into the storytelling. "Am I Dreaming" is another one of those late night driving songs. The lyrics are snapshots of places inside the dreams of a man seeking to find his destination.

Nilsson handles guitars and keyboards and has Chris Biano, a Nashville based singer, handling all the vocals. Chris has a pleasant sounding voice and Peter's guitar is prone to great solos. Rounding out the band are session drummer Jason Meekins from Austin Texas and bass player Patrik Andiels from Gothnurg Sweden. The album was mixed and mastered at Grammy award-winning studio, "The Panic Room" located in Skovde Sweden.

"Timeless" is the perfect next song as the same mood is kept alive with more dreamy lyrics about being lost in love. The song clocks in at over 5 minutes and contains a beautiful guitar solo. The title track to the album opens with a catchy keyboard riff which segues into a light funky groove infused with some great "oh-oh" choruses. The song's topic is an ode to the struggle for the "little American dream".

 "Haunted" perpetuates the night time driving groove with the perfect mix of guitars and keyboards. The hook in this track has a large payoff that will stick in your musical consciousness long after the song ends. A touch of Russ Ballard perhaps? Yes. "Love Is Worth Fighting For" opens with some large clean guitar and keyboard riffs. The song then settles into another hypnotic groove as the track builds musical momentum. This is another 6 plus minute dose of ear candy. "Rumours" is a slightly uptempo tune with more clean guitars and vocals. The hook is large enough to drive a truck through. There are touches of Corey Hart and Glass Tiger here.

The album's closing track, "Magic" completes 9 perfect innings of music. A tad more underground 80's rock sounding a la Charlie Sexton. But with a much more convincing hook and some fine guitar playing. Few albums have 9 songs that could all be released as singles. And the songs get better and better with repeat listens. You owe yourself to download this one. 5 out of 5 stars. Truly one of the finest releases of 2018.