P.J. O'Connell
's earnestly ragged, good-time
power pop
has the appeal of much of the best that came before him, including
Big Star
,
Paul Westerberg
, and even that grand latter-day collective
Golden Smog
.
"Dim Star"
revels in a ponderous and grinding kind of beauty, while
"Can't Get It Right"
possesses a set of nimble Anglo sensibilities that seem descended from the ranks of
Elvis Costello
Graham Parker
, or even
Rockpile
, but there's a burnish and roughness around the edges that is unmistakably
O'Connell
"Walked Away"
is simply
par excellence done up
style. The guitars throughout the album all have a grit, a twinkle, and a twang that provide ballast for the songwriter's knack for crystalline melodic twists. (Here, the six-string is the gravel beneath the wild sunshine of
's songcraft.)
also employs his friends
NRBQ
to back him up on the (you guessed it)
-ish,
"All This Time."
From his days in North Carolina fronting
the Flying Pigs
to his numerous collaborations and two previous solo albums,
is an
Americana
auteur on a journey that keeps getting more and more beautiful with each release.
Careful
is simply terrific from end to end. ~ Erik Hage