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By: Dennis Cook
Opener "This Is It" is such a perfect quick-strummed nugget, the sort of pop music Buddy Holly might be making if he grew up today instead of the '50s, that one wonders why this Santa Cruz-based singer-songwriter isn't better known. From head to tail this is the sort of beautifully sculpted stuff, full of bright tweaks and clever changes, that has made Isaac Brock and Colin Meloy such hits with the kids recently, except there's less bluster and conceptualizing to KD's music, which arrives with a clean, forceful, uncluttered snap.
There's great sensitivity and observational acumen here, yet unlike many peers he never descends into mope, preferring instead a lilt that happily nods back to Simon & Garfunkel (give "Winding Roads" a spin and see what I mean) or early Crosby-Nash efforts (see "In The Grass" and "Space Vacuums" for evidence). And it's not all retro. Despite its title "Hippie Chicks" has a lyric and lacksidasical bounce Beck would give one of his two turntables to snag, and "Cactus Garden" is a fine bit of bluegrass-y fun. This one-man (and a few helpful friends) operation captured this lot over two years of rambling, laying down tracks in "closets, bedrooms, living rooms and garages," and the final product bears the hallmarks of such passionate patience. This is a lovely, lovely album and one it's hard to imagine anyone smitten with well-crafted, personal-yet-universal rock not liking. A lot.
JamBase | Swaying
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