I was in Malmö, Sweden (which is just across the strait from Copenhagen, Denmark), a few years ago when I came across a concert notice for a local Swedish singer-songwriter who coincidentally shares my name, Richard Lindgren. We had to leave Malmö, his hometown, the next day and missed seeing him perform, but I have been buying his music ever since.

He may seem out-of-place in Sweden, but his style is a mix of “American roots music” influences that mirrors some of my own influences, and it comes out as combination of Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Tom Waits, yet with still something very unique. This past year he released a new CD of songs he cut in Italy, where he appears to have a following, called Malmostoso. The title is a pun, given his Swedish home, but it also means “grumpy” in Italian.

You can find this album and his other music on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon or YouTube. Here he is singing live, with a song from Malmostoso in his Tom Waits mode. I also recommend his earlier albums, Salvation Hardcore and A Man You Can Hate. He deserves some American attention.

Here he is in his Townes Van Zandt mode (with a hint of early Dylan) in a great song from A Man You Can Hate.

And finally at the piano with a wonderful sax accompanist, another song from “A Man You Can Hate”: