I get wary
of any artist biography that references Jeremy Piven. That’s the kind of
information I would keep to myself. Nonetheless, multi-instrumentalist Nick
Rosen, amid his more impressive credentials, proudly includes the one-time
George Costanza impersonator as a collaborator. Thankfully John Cusack’s
right-hand man is not on this album but Rosen does get an assist from a bunch
of friends including KCRW mainstay Anthony Valadez and Dexter Story. This new
album moves at a very slow pace. With song titles that include the words
“countryside,” “tears” and “angels” that shouldn’t come as much of a shock. The
man likes atmospheric slow jams. “Eastside/Westside” gets a cognac and cigar
vibe sliding over an echo-laden drumbeat. He immediately follows that track
with “See You Again,” a strummed, beach-side folk-pop, perfect for hanging up
cut-out photos from a magazine on a pink wall. This relatively brief album is
solely dedicated to atmosphere. The songs are unobtrusive and there are even
some bird sound effects over the phased-out guitar on “Let’s Go Back.” The band
even digs into that jazz stuff with the record’s namesake but the track isn’t
out of place, sticking firmly to the introspective scene. The piano/bass/drum
gets into a sort of Keith Jarrett feeling, clocking in at nearly two and half
minutes longer than any other track. The album closes on an epic swell with
vibrating strings hovering above a gently plucked acoustic guitar and the
vocals of Maiya Sykes.
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