Since releasing his eponymous debut album in 2011, fresh-faced singer-songwriter Jonas Aslaksen – better known as ‘Jonas Alaska’ – has been cutting a swathe through the Nordic music scene with his blend of floppy-haired guitar, knowing personal lyrics and catchily laid-back pop sound.

 

After that first album was nominated for three Norwegian Grammys and he took home the title ‘Newcomer of the Year’, the 27-year-old followed up with a European tour and his second album If Only As A Ghost in 2013.

Having released album number three, Younger, in February this year, Jonas is now taking to the stage at The Lexington in Islington for the Ja Ja Ja club night – a monthly celebration of the finest emerging Nordic musical talent. Sharing the line-up with Denmark’s Baby in Vain and Swedish electronic duo The Deer Tracks, Jonas will be performing tracks from his release, promising to inject a bit more of a rough and rocky feel into his songs.

In keeping with the title, many of the album’s songs evoke the everyday reality of teenage life, veering from moments of angst and frustration to upbeat bursts of energy and a youthful sense of freedom.

This is last Ja Ja Ja night before they shut up shop for a few months, so for a blast of 90s-evoking Norwegian pop to see you into summer, get along to The Lexington on Thursday.

Photo: Lasse Fløde