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The Other
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Barnes and Noble
The Other
Current price: $13.99
Barnes and Noble
The Other
Current price: $13.99
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Size: CD
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In the lead-up to
' fourth
LP, the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist found himself at home in L.A., run down from years of touring, and feeling more and more distanced from the good-time rock & roller persona he'd created.
decided to reset in a few ways: He made an effort to write songs that he could play solo with just a guitar, he self-produced the tracks for the first time since his debut, and he recorded the songs in a newly assembled home studio. He also played many of the instruments himself, with the exception of drums (
,
) and saxophones (
). The only other guests on the album were his all-star backing vocalists
, and
. Calling it
, his first album since 2014's Billboard 200-charting
is still radiantly psychedelic and off the beaten path, but it's also conspicuously his most introspective to date. He sets the stage with the title track, a six-minute prologue he said is about "hitting rock bottom" and rediscovering inspiration. It opens with what sounds like a small, hand-rung bell, followed by solemn organ and acoustic guitar that act as an ostinato under
' half-spoken narrative. The album then mushrooms, so to speak, into a lava lamp-inflected, saxophone-bolstered groove on "Raindrop Blue," a colorful love song with lyrics like "You dazzled me with destiny and magnetized my mouth." Expansive arrangements built on funky basslines, vintage keyboards, and vibrant textures pervade the rest of
, which continues in kind. It's a more thoughtful, philosophical
, for certain, but
is far from a downer, with
' individuality and catchy pop sensibilities still intact. ~ Marcy Donelson