Laurel Canyon gets some twang
The Laurel Canyon-styled music heard earlier this year on Matthew Szlachetka’s Waits for a Storm to Find gets a running mate with “City Girls,†the opening track of Jeff Crosby’s third full-length album. Though his voice is more rustic, the production – particularly the bass playing of his brother Andy – is highly reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, and particularly the song “Dreams.†It’s not the only sound swimming around Crosby’s head, as the album’s split between Los Angeles and Nashville studios adds twang to the West Coast vibe, and the solo acoustic passages, such as the intro to “Red, White and Blue,†play as singer-songwriter country.
Crosby’s voice is strong, but his songs plaintive, describing his struggle to reconnect with the evocative lyric “first day of Spring back home, and I’m just standing here like a payphone nobody uses anymore.†He wonders whether different life choices might have led to better outcomes on “I Should Be Happy,†ponders his place in the world on the album’s title track, but looks outward with the observational “The Homeless and the Dreamers.†Crosby’s material is mostly bittersweet, though he turns optimistic as he takes stock with “The Only One I Need.†The album’s canyon echoes reverberate in a pleasantly familiar way, but the songs are fresh and personal. [©2015 Hyperbolium] 