is one of those guys with the gift of sounding worn and world-weary at the age of 27, a skill many young men have tried to master since dreamed up a cooler new name, , and an interesting backstory to go along with it. But unlike plenty of other singer/songwriters with a bluesy slant, 's songs sound like the work of a man who came by his weathered tone honestly, and 2019's is an album that speaks of loneliness and loss with the ring of truth. The subdued tone of most of suggests a man playing guitar with two or three friends in a room late at night, struggling not to wake the neighbors but determined to make his feelings audible. has said he was going through a divorce and struggling with the subsequent emotional turmoil while he wrote these songs, and while he doesn't sound melodramatic or histrionic, he's not disguising his troubled mind, either. has some notable support on this set -- and contribute backing vocals, and the players include , , and -- but it's his vocals that truly carry this music, and while his lightly gritty drawl takes a measured tone to match the arrangements, he manages to command the spotlight without turning up the volume. In the great tradition of Breakup Albums, isn't quite up there with 's or , but as a vocalist and songwriter, this represents 's best and most convincing work to date, and it speaks of experience in such a way that his songs truly match the weary edges of his voice. ~ Mark Deming