Kenny Chambers led the exciting mid-'80s Boston post-punk blasters Moving Targets, and he can still write and sing a great tune 24 years after "Always Calling." Interestingly, Under the Tracks' early going sounds like the quick-hitting gems Jerry Love contributed to Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque and Thirteen (the stand-out "Crawl" is like a battle between "Star Sign" and "Radio"). If only all 15 songs continued in this vein. It's not only similar to his early style with a new twist, but with his self-harmonies layered on his gnarly, roaring pop guitars, it's terrific. Often he prefers a country-inflected, slow- to midtempo, middle of the road ache-pop format that still works well (especially on "Love Is Action"), if occasionally sounding like demos in search of a band. That said, most of this is good to excellent, especially for old fans.
© Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover /TiVo