This first baroque-pop solo offering from former Lionheart Brothers multi-instrumentalist Marcus Forsgren tackles themes of history, emotion and ambition in the grand style.

Sometimes rather too grand, as he occasionally loses focus while piling on ever more layers of sound, leaving his fragile falsetto sitting like a cherry atop a gaudy wedding cake of sound.

“Waiting for That Holy Music” signals his sonic ambition, its serpentine vocal melody soaring over a bed of organ, woodwind and silvery strings dotted with subtle percussive touches, irresistibly bringing to mind Brian Wilson’s work with Van Dyke Parks.

But an over-complex horn arrangement clouds the clean momentum of “I Need Something New”, while the huge drama of “No Such Thing As Love” essentially boils down to over-egged pomp-rock with classical pretensions.