Sultans

The follow-up to 2015's crowd-funded, -produced , sees the British-born, New York-based singer/songwriter eschew the folksy Americana leanings of past outings for something a bit more Beatlesque. In a nod to bookends the ten-song set with two iterations of the title track; a slow building, paisley-pop confection with hints of Eastern mysticism and a very "I Am the Walrus"-inspired gait. has been up front about the album's Fab Four connection, citing his formative years spent in rural Southwest England as an emotional and cultural through-line, but there are still shades of and to be found behind all of the studio experimentation and skiffle beats -- the soulful "Love" hews closest to the big-hearted country-folk of past outings. Some of the time comes off as a gruffer and more muscular , especially on the fuzzed-out "Serpentine" and "Mazarati," but the majority of has its feet firmly planted in the 1960s. Caught somewhere between swirling, Brill Building pop ("Goodbye") and bluesy, -inspired guitar rock ("Nautical"), can feel a bit apocryphal, but and producer and frequent collaborator inject the project with enough character that even at its most self-referential, it feels like the product of loving parents. ~ James Christopher Monger