On his full solo debut,
Donovan Quinn and a cast of fellow Bay Area musicians including producer/
Papercuts main guy Jason Quever follow on from
Quinn's
Skygreen Leopards work as well as an earlier EP with a batch of songs in a roughly played, sweetly sung style that will appeal to those who appreciate what can be grouped under the label "psychedelia" if you can sing along to it easily enough. That sounds harsh, but
Quinn's under no illusions when it comes to his songwriting approach and preferred performing styles -- with the opening song "October's Bride" alone one can hear comparisons to
Bob Dylan (with and without the
Band),
Love,
Moby Grape,
Robyn Hitchcock, and
Tom Petty alone, and if that's the kind of thing that will float a boat for a listener, then this album will be a treasure.
Quinn's singing is calm, reflective, sometimes full forward in the mix and sometimes sinking back in a gentle blend of music, such as the gentle strings and guitar on "Horror and Fear" or "Take the Cross Off the Mantle." The whole thing sounds lovely, and Quever's production and many instrumental contributions are equally a treat, but beyond that, the album is more than a curio, less than a distinct new vision -- it's a celebration of a style and approach that reworks familiar templates but rarely creates something distinctly, uniquely memorable. ~ Ned Raggett