Say what you will about godawful US teen soap The OC, but whoever decides which songs to use in it must be pretty clued into the best new singer-songwriter music out there. Here is another artist who has joined the lengthy ranks of those to benefit from having their songs played as a backdrop to some spoilt rich and beautiful Americans having lengthy and interminable discussions about their personal lives...

What is surprising about Magnet is that he even managed to get on The OC despite coming all the way from Bergen in Norway, though that certainly didn't stop his debut EPs making a big splash a couple of years ago.

His debut album On Your Side only enhanced his reputation worldwide, so expectations are high for this follow-up, The Tourniquet, but does it deliver? The good news is that it has all the hallmarks of a classic singer-songwriter album, and Even Johansen's songs sound even more warm and seductively beautiful than before.

He's been helped here by the co-producing work of Jellyfish's Jason Faulkner, who brings a trademark sheen to proceedings that he has previously given to albums by the likes of Beck and Air. Lead single Hold On opens, with yearning vocals and soaring guitar chords welcoming you into Magnet's world before Duracellia envelopes you in it.

While On Your Side was often quite melancholic, The Tourniquet (despite its title) finds Johansen in a much happier mood, and that warm glow washes over almost all of the songs. All You Ask even has a dub sound and laidback horns mutedly blowing in the background to yet another lovely folky tune.

The Tourniquet was recorded in his native Norway, surrounded by outstanding natural beauty, and then polished by Faulkner in Los Angeles, and both of these atmospheres are very evident in the sound of the album. If anyone thought that Magnet might struggle to live up to the expectations created by his stunning debut album, they will soon see how easily he has blown them out of the water.