I obviously know nothing about music. I thought Jim Stärk was a guy from Sweden. And I thought this guy Jim Stärk played pop-rock. So I guess I confused this Jim Stärk with someone else, because the Jim Stärk who released this album is not a person, it’s a band, they are not from Sweden, they’re Norwegian, and they’re certainly not playing pop-rock.

So, first album in this year’s series of 52 is Jim Stärk’s 2003 release No Time Wasted. They play quiet guitar-pop, singer/songwriter-style. Some people have labeled their music a “nice mixture between alternative countryrock and bluegrass”. Countryrock? I don’t know, you will be seated if you ever go to a concert with these guys, and I’m not sure if anything with “rock” in it should be suitable for a seated audience. And I don’t even know what bluegrass is, but my best guess is that it’s something Blues-ish. I think I’ll stick with my original description - this is quiet guitar-pop, singer/songwriter-style. Except maybe one of the tracks. It’s got a banjo in it, you see.

How much I like the songs varies. They go from boring to somewhat catchy, but no matter how much I listen to it, I’m not able to really like it. It’s so-so. Should this album be playing in the background while you do something else? Or should you sit down in a good chair and just listen to it. I’ve tried both. And nothing really works. A place I think this album will be a winner is at some pub, where you can drink beer and talk shit with your friends. So I guess they can be pretty entertaining live. Beer makes a lot of things exceptionally entertaining.

So, what’s the final verdict? I’m really not sure if I should give the albums I write these rather unprofessional reviews of any score. But then again, when I read reviews myself, I tend to jump straight to the verdict, score or whatever kind of summary is available to save some time and not read about the albums that suck. But you shouldn’t trust reviewer and critics. They simply don’t have your taste in music.

Still I’m writing this. For you. That’s irony for you!

Jim Stärk - No Time Wasted gets 2 out of 6. So, there you have your score, too.