The darkest, most understated
Freedy Johnston
record to date,
Blue Days Black Nights
is also the singer's most intimate effort, largely rejecting the quirky character studies of prior outings in favor of more plainly personal narratives, and revealing new shades of depth and honesty in the process. Co-producers
T-Bone Burnett
and
Roger Moutenot
cloak
Johnston
's songs in dusky atmospherics which underscore the music's spare beauty -- far removed from the crackling pop flavor of the preceding
Never Home
or even the shimmering folk of
This Perfect World
,
possesses a hushed gravity which insinuates itself only over repeated listens. At times the results are overly ponderous, but a handful of tracks -- the opening
"Underwater Life"
"Moving on a Holiday"
included -- rank among
's finest. ~ Jason Ankeny