California singer-songwriter spans acoustic folk and canyon pop

After five solo albums, and earlier records recorded with Young Art, Damone and the Greater Good, singer-songwriter Shane Alexander has self-produced his most sonically fetching work yet. The sparseness of 2013’s Ladera can still be heard in the opener, with Paul Simon-styled finger-picking and a double-tracked vocal that suggests Elliot Smith. But the album quickly expands beyond acoustic folk with the second cut’s driving drums and atmospheric piano and steel, echoing 1970s canyon rock with a melancholy lyric of haunted memories and a memorable chorus hook. And melancholy turns into panic as a relationship dies in the power ballad “Hold Me Helpless.”

Alexander can be abstract as he introspects his history and surroundings. “I Will Die Alone” is lined by moments in time, but they’re connected weigh-points rather than a linear narrative, and the allusional “Nobody Home” has the rhythm of pursuit for its fractional imagery. Alexander’s bliss may be in the act of observation rather than the observations themselves, but he shines a lovelight on “Heart of California,” pledging his undying gratitude for the state’s inspirational bounty. His greatest bliss, however, was likely the chance to record in his own studio, allowing his songs to unfold without a meter running. For those who haven’t met Shane Alexander, this is a great introduction. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

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