JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE – Time Frames (Album Review)

Four years ago, Jonas Lindberg and his band The Other Side made considerable waves as their second full-length album, Miles From Nowhere, was picked up by Inside Out Music. Coming out of Nowhere, the Swedish prog rock outfit delivered one of the best albums of the year, flaunting Lindberg’s impressive prog songwriting style supported by a fully developed band setting. Turns out that the pandemic enabled Lindberg and his bandmates to fully focus on producing the best album they possibly could. But writing and recording the follow-up during post-pandemic times meant encountering life’s inevitable obstacles and detours, thus the lengthy four-year wait until completion. Happily, it’s worth the wait.

Time Frames picks up right where the previous album left off, incorporating a similar blueprint and membership of band personnel. Lindberg himself is the songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and one of the main guitarists and vocalists. On this album, he decided to record most of the backing tracks himself, along with Jonathan Lundberg on drums, and then afterwards he let loose Calle Schönning, Nicklas Thelin, and Joel Lindberg to work their extra guitar magic into the songs. The results speak for themselves – it sounds like a cohesive band effort, with strong musical writing at its core.

The album is bookended by the two longest tracks, and in many ways, these are the most rewarding peaks in this collection. Rooted in the strengths of various symphonic prog legends, while again drawing a heavy inspiration from the writing style of Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard, and similar artists, Lindberg knows how to expertly develop pieces over 12 minutes in length, and isn’t shy about demonstrating this skill. “End Of The Road” is actually the start of the album, and features Jonas Sundqvist and Jenny Storm on lead vocals. Lead synth lines swerve through the various sections, from solo noodling to establishing the poignant themes that establish themselves as earworms. It all pays off during the final two minutes, where the main theme is reprised with soaring guitars at an anthemic pace. This man knows his prog, and he delivers.

The other epic, “The Wind,” closes the album, clocking in at over 17 minutes. Both Jonas members contribute lead vocals to this one, as well as Storm being featured in a particularly rocking section of the piece. Like on “End Of The Road”, strong melodic themes are established early on and then are reprised toward the end for a triumphant return. In between, Lindberg lets his warbly fretless bass find just the right vibe to notch up the emotions a little higher amidst the dueted male and female voices. Slide guitar adds extra shivers down the spine at key moments, right up to the climactic finale.

While the two epics alone occupy a half hour of running time, there’s plenty of other choice material to enjoy as well, and even the shorter pieces aren’t that short. “Galactic Velvet” is one of the strongest, a transcendent cosmic trip which finds Storm ably taking the main vocal spot and Maria Olsson adding extra percussion. Lindberg’s writing is filled with hooks that latch on and won’t let go. This skill shines through on other songs, too, like the first driving single “Faces Of Stone”, the harder-hitting “Running Out Of Time”, and the more acoustic “Someone Like Me,” which also adds Conny Lindgren on violins.

The last few years found Lindberg becoming a father, which influenced his writing process. But even on instrumental “Gruvan”, his new muse inevitably finds her way into the song once again: “On this one, my 2-year-old daughter crashed the percussion sessions, grabbed a shaker and played along. It sounded so cool that she ended up appearing on the track.” The word “Gruvan” is Swedish for ‘The Mine’ and is also the name of the studio where most of the album was recorded. Originally intended to become more of a bluegrass tune, it derailed and ended up as an ‘Other Side’ track with a 12/8 fusion groove instead.

Considering the impressive consistency of his output and his excellent supporting musicians and vocalists, Lindberg promises to have a lengthy and successful career still in front of him. Although it can be hard to gain a wide audience in a relatively small niche like prog rock, Lindberg possesses the skills to make shorter, accessible songs if he so chooses. Maybe he’ll even record a bluegrass album, like he alluded to with “Gruvan”. Regardless of the style, Lindberg’s talent will shine through, and you can bet we’ll be listening. 

Release Date: November 7th, 2025
Record Label: Inside Out Music
Genre: Progressive Rock

Musicians:

• Jonas Lindberg / Bass, double bass, keyboards, guitars, mandolin, ukulele, backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 2, 6 & 7
• Jonas Sundqvist / Lead vocals on tracks 1,3 & 7
• Jenny Storm / Lead vocals on tracks 1,4 & 7
• Calle Schönning / Guitars on tracks 1,3,4,5 & 7
• Nicklas Thelin / Guitars on tracks 1,4,5,6 & 7
• Joel Lindberg / Guitars on tracks 5 & 6
• Jonathan Lundberg / Drums
• Maria Olsson / Percussion
• Conny Lindgren / Violins on track 2

Time Frames Track-list:

1. End Of The Road
2. Someone Like Me
3. Faces Of Stone
4. Galactic Velvet
5. Gruvan
6. Running Out Of Time
7. The Wind

Order the album here.