The highlights on
It’s the Good Crazy, the second album from pop/rock tunesmith
Matt White, are the ballads, which are intricately arranged by a number of producers who moonlight as solo songwriters. The guys keep things warm and tuneful throughout, recording everything onto analog tape and boosting
White’s piano-and-vocals approach with strings, background vocals, and other radio-ready accessories. “Taking on Water” finds him duetting with up-and-coming songbird Emma Lasry while acoustic guitars strum quietly beneath them, and “When I Fall” gives him a chance to show off his falsetto, with a chorus that hints at
Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work.” ~ Andrew Leahey