I'm OK, You're OK in Bloomington, MN

The performances and productions on
Jason Falkner
's first two albums were so perfect that listeners may have thought it was easy for
Falkner
to write and record his bittersweet love songs. Not the case, fortunately or not, and
entered a fallow period during the 2000s -- he recorded often, and toured with
Air
, but released only scattered material (an EP, a collection of early demos, and a children's lullaby album).
I'm OK You're OK
finally appeared in 2007, bearing recordings from 2001 through 2007 and sounding like a true follow-up to
Presents Author Unknown
and
Can You Still Feel?
Self-produced and virtually self-played, the album doesn't stray too far from the jagged power pop of his earlier releases, although there's a bit of edge taken off. From the evidence of
"This Time,"
"Stephanie Tells Me,"
"Hurricane,"
is still well aware of how to write clever hooks and wrap beguiling arrangements around them. ~ John Bush