A selection of fond love-letter songs to the city where he was raised and has remained by the 46-year-ld American singer-songwriter, in this deliciously laid back 10th LP of songs of interweaving guitars, folk, rock, country and psychedelia, all with his inimitably relaxed vocal delivery. A celebration of life and lifestyle, but also reflection on time passing, it is perhaps his most philsophical record to date, albeit Dude-ish stoner-philosopher in style, is gently humorous with also a sense of mortality and odd wonder at his flowing career. Zoom 97 warmly chimes with acoustic guitar layers and psychedelia references to a waster lifestyle that’s morphed into happy family life: “Smoke from my ears, my brain is burnin' /My candle's burnt, I'm never learnin' / Watch as my life breaks down / Just as thе song breaks down” and yet also “World's been meltin' in front of my eyes, yeah / My baby girls, they keep me high, yeah / Ain't on no trips though, no LSD / True love is the pure drug for me” 99th Song refers to the maximum number of loops he can store on his loop pedal and with that sense of repetition and reflection comes his self-portrayal as a married father of two (“Got love in my life and three girls by my side / I’m holdin’ it down and takin’ it slow”). Rock O’ Stone employs that drawling, half-talking style that has been so engaging for much of his career. Standout Chance To Bleed has a lazy, mesmeric feel of early 1970s Rolling Stones (“Yeah, now you got a chance to bleed now/ With that old time, lo-fi, DIY, rock 'n’ roll nights”) with dashes of gently rapping. Centrally themed Philly’s Been Good To Me has a wry reference to pollution: “Philadelphia’s been good to me /Let’s hope it don’t fall into the Schuylkill River / That’s the river that’s polluted as hell / But it runs through my town and I ain’t puttin' it down.” Holiday OKV reflects more on his career with slow rhythm, jangly guitars and talking: “I'm writing lyrics in my study / Thinkin' 'bout all my little buddies / I lost along the way/ It's just that demon life had / (Got its claws in them) / I dream big, bomb hard, crash n' burn, took a nose dive / Man, it feels so good to be alive.” Final track Avalanches of Snow is a gentle, dreamy love song, but also a tribute friends from Australian band The Avalanches, with added brass layers: “Avalanches of snow / Coming down on my ears / Whеn I wanna hear that beautiful music flow / From down under.” Mesmerically slow, seductively unhurried and full of lovely textures, it’s an album almost impossible not to feel relaxed with, once you give into its perfectly plodding pace. Out on Verve Records.
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