Album Review

** 1/2 Ebba Forsberg, “Been There,” Maverick/MNW. In an age of instant gratification and youthful tempestuousness, it’s pleasantly surprising to hear a debut album hailing patience and maturity. Though the lyrics are by co-writer Kajsa Ribbing, they seem to reflect the rewards of Swedish singer Forsberg’s years as a backup singer and young mother.

Regaining hope and/or love after struggling with it is the common theme, and the knowledge that time heals wounds is the message, with an occasional spiritual cushion (“I have asked my God why he has abandoned me / but now I know he has been there all the time,” she sings in “Carried”). All this is articulated plainly and cleanly, in a lightly jazz-inflected singer-songwriter setting that somewhat updates the models of such icons as Carole King and Laura Nyro.

Perhaps it’s too plain, though, lyrically and musically. Her voice and the arrangements are attractive, but the comfort of the themes--hard-earned though that may be--extends to the general familiarity of the sounds. There’s no sense of pushing the envelope. Maybe that’s the trade-off for contentment.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).