| Tim Easton |
Alternative Folk
With a comfortable vocal rasp that's reminiscent of such seminal troubadours as John Prine and Guy Clark, former Haynes Boys leader Tim Easton details disintegrating relationships and sad affairs with conversational intimacy on his second solo release The Truth About Us, which mixes introspective acoustic picking, chiming electric chords, a bit of swamp-blues, and the occasional Hammond B-3, with impressive and evocative results. From their images of the departing woman who "stepped on the pedal/like it was his heart" in "Out of Your Life" to the restless man who's "a shadow but he wants to be real" in "Get So Lonesome," Easton's songs resonate with all manner of heartache and self-recrimination. But the artist's easygoing melodies and rootsy arrangements temper the melancholy lyrical themes, and the organic instrumental support of moonlighting Wilco members Jay Bennett, Ken Coomer, and John Stirratt underlines the melodic accessibility of Easton's tunes. Multi-instrumentalist Bennett earns MVP status here, adding imaginative colors to each song - for example, the Byrdsy 12-string on "Happy Now," and soulful keyboards and feedback-laden guitar on "Soup Can Telephone Game Conversation." Steve Klinge
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