Aaron Jentzen
(Inferential Kid Music + Media)
His brooding baritone recalling Hunky Dory-era David Bowie, Aaron Jentzen sets the tone here with a melancholy title track that finds him haunted by the lingering shadow of simpler, more innocent times with "Combat Rock on the stereo and that Rocky Horror Picture Show," when "we never thought it would get any better than this." It starts off sparse and atmospheric, its rhythm suggesting that Jentzen maybe spent some time with Synchronicity on that same stereo, and gets more textured as it goes along.
But Jentzen's vocals and the lyrics they deliver are the focus here, whether venturing into Nick Cave territory on "The Known World," a highlight whose mood is part Spaghetti Western, part film noir, or crooning his way through the shadows on "People Like Us." And then, he signs off with a bagpipe-fueled chamber-pop classic called "Yesterday's People" that starts with a trembling "Saw my face in the mirror/Didn't like what I saw" and only gets better from there.
Standout Tracks: "Great Inventors," "Yesterday's People" A. WATT
