Following his Yep Roc release,
Jason Darling returns with another strong blend of roots rock and radio-friendly, singer/songwriter pop. A good example of this is the catchy, bouncy "Wind" that is a cross between
John Mayer and
Howie Day. However,
Darling often shows a lighter, softer side on tender, mid-tempo heart-tugging tunes such as "Always" but this comes across more like sap during the rather formulaic, melancholic and rather self-pitying "Flowers." Fortunately, the musician redeems himself with the Americana-tinged "Thief" that contains some subtle but important
Beatles trademarks. The only slight flaw is how the song seems to fade out much too slowly, resulting in a nice but slightly lengthy coda. A crisper, shorter and leaner approach is used for the high-tempo "Systems" that is filled with tension before breaking out into a lounge-pop style in the vein of
the Dears or
Stars. The singer also is quite at home delivering extremely well-crafted and simple folksy numbers such as the swaying "Top of Her Stairs" that could have fit perfectly on
Tom Petty's She's the One soundtrack. One true highlight is how smooth
Darling pulls off the delightful cover of
Pink Floyd's "Fearless." Yet for this gem, the ensuing tedious "Hold On" might have been better off entitled "Drag On" for its dirge-like feeling and tedious arrangement.