Norway’s Jorn Lande has nothing to prove anymore, and owes us as fans nothing. If he wants to write a song that tugs at the listener’s thought processes until they realise it’s Dolly Parton‘s Jolene that they think of whenever they hear it (I’m not kidding – Ode To The Black Nightshade is the song and you’re gonna love it when you get the chance to have a listen), then so be it.

Actually, our veteran hero of the tonsil wars sounds as ageless as the legendary Ms Parton throughout on Over The Horizon Radar, and whilst there’s no chance of him taking a residency at the Grand Ole Opry anytime soon, there’s a big chance he’ll do just that on the Strickmann family stereo, such is the strength of the material on this ripsnorting rocker of an album.

Seriously, tracks like Dead London, One Man War and the motoring In The Dirt are right up there with the best of Lande’s solo ouvre, and the man himself is in velvet-smooth form throughout, giving a controlled performance that delights on every single track; A man with this much vocal power at his disposal must be tempted to throw the kitchen sink at a song every now and then, surely – but here, time and again, Jorn serves the song rather than his ego. It’s a matchwinning ploy, and I, after racking the brains for some while, have decided that I haven’t enjoyed a Jorn album from front to back this much since 2009’s monstrous Spirit Black.

That’s high praise indeed, I’m fully aware, but everyone here is so on point – from the supporting cast of guitarists Adrian SB and Tore Moren, through the superbly rumbling bass of Nik Mazzucconi, who alongside admirable drummer Francesco Jovino forms the rock-solid base over which the magic is made, to the keyboard and mixing skills of Alessandro Del Vecchio, that at the end of the day Jorn probably couldn’t fail whatever he chose to sing on this album. I’m just glad languid rockers like Believer made the cut – it’s late seventies Eagles as filtered through a prism of D. Coverdale and it’s monstrous –  and I’m sure you will be too when you hear this quite superb album.

Over The Horizon Radio releases on June 17th.