Former
Loose Diamond Troy Campbell offers up 11 mid-American heartland roots rock nuggets on his second solo album,
American Breakdown. Expertly produced by bassist
Gurf Morlix,
Campbell's earnest voice creaks and croons stories of lost loves, lost memories, and long-gone locations, each with a different surprise ending or unexpected supporting cast. Like a stark
Jon Dee Graham or
Patty Griffin from a male perspective, his gritty, bittersweet songwriting captures not only the moment of heartbreak, but also the slow creep of realization when the loneliness settles in for the night.
Campbell is at his most successful in the more stripped-down numbers (like the gentle "Sorrytown" and the lovely duet with
Eliza Gilkyson, "Ruby"), but his fuzzed-up and layered songs certainly couldn't be seen as throwaways. With all of the doom and gloom occurring in the songs,
Campbell still somehow manages to leave the listener with a sense of hope, as if all of the heartache and torment is only a passing stage, and he seems certain that there will be sunlight behind that last grey cloud. ~ Zac Johnson