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Q-Tones, a fresh new quartet from Sweden have released a fantastic debut recording entitled, "Look At Us Now."  With clean singing and clever arrangements, Q-Tones has developed a very impressive album which entertains you with swings songs, Elvis Presley numbers and even a Disney tune from the movie, The Jungle Book.

The members of Q-Tones are Henrik Rosenberg, Simon Rylander, Johannes Bergman and Kenneth Nilsson. Students of music, each member brings his own unique performance to the recording which listeners will find inviting and engaging.  Nilsson's smooth Bass singing really stuck out for me, particularly in the opening number of Love Me.  Nilsson has a pleasant tone to his rich voice which would compliment any top level quartet.

While most of the arrangements would be considered "cover songs," Q-Tones still adds their own bit of flavor and coloring to the performances which makes it their own.  What impressed me most is the quality of musicianship and understanding of the barbershop craft which Q-Tones delivers on.  Their english diction is impeccable and sounds better than some North American quartets. By listening to Q-Tones and other Swedish groups such as Ringmasters and zero8, it's proof that barbershop music is flourishing outside North America.

The CD's liner notes are rock solid, spilling over with loads of information on the quartet, the songs and the people who helped create the recording.  The graphics were modern and artistic.   I especially liked the comments the quartet makes on the individual songs.  Under each title the quartet talks about the song, who the original artist was and why the quartet chose to sing it. This is an original concept which I found appealing and made the song a bit more personal when listening to them sing.  Q-Tones also included in the liner notes the equipment that was used for their recording.  For audio-tech geeks you'll find this bit of information very useful.

As a fan of barbershop I appreciate artists who go out of their way to make the best musical recording possible.  While it's fun to see an artist in a live concert, it's the CD that goes home with you and has that lasting impression of the artist. Q-Tones certainly set out to accomplish a pleasant and accurate performance.  With that being said, I feel the post-production of the recording may be a bit over engineered.  I'm a supporter of auto-tune programs such as Melodyne, yet it should be used sparingly in order to preserve the natural performance.  I really enjoyed Rylander's Lead vocals.  He is a very good singer and shows a comfort zone singing as the Lead.  On future recordings I would like to hear him take a few more chances in vocal expression to really give us that roller coaster effect of excitement when he sings.  Rylander certainly has the chops to become a great Lead singer in the future.

The CD is set to be released on March 3rd.  To get more information on Q-Tones or to purchase the CD, visit their website here.