John Swardson resides in Minneapolis and his debut album, "Ablaze," showcases a who's who of the Minneapolis rock scene. This guy is plugged in!

Guest musicians on "Ablaze" include members of The AKA's, Janis Figure, The Hang Ups, The Great Depression, Houston, The Spittin' Cobras, Son Volt, Ben Weaver, Blue Dot Trance, a member of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and rock god Mark Mallman. And just to add a little bit of down-home feeling, his sister adds some backup vocals. In all, 12 guests perform on "Ablaze," a sophisticated and smart album that took two years to record.

The album kicks off with "Faster," a beautiful song that will put you in a trance with its sad violin part, which is carefully layered on top of a softly strumming guitar and light-hitting drums. Next, the album moves into its title track, which could easily be the soundtrack to a coming of age motorcycle trip movie. It's mature and sonically appealing. From here, "Ablaze" gets more into the rock vibe with "1989," "Beautiful Day," and "Steady" before heading back into Swardson's signature sound with three acoustic ballads.

The album finishes with "High Above The Earth," a compelling ballad I presume to be about finding meaning in life. On the song, Swardson sings, "Say you're a star/Say you're hungriest/Say you're God/Why should you care?/Say you're a star/Falling out of your chair." TC

myspace.com/johnswardson