Artist:

Graig MarkelRelease: Graig MarkelLabel: Recovery Release Date: Out nowRecorded on analog tape and inspired by the organic approach of Springsteen’s Nebraska and Sun Kil Moon’s Ghosts of the Great Highway, studio owner, effects pedal maker and member of The Animals at Night, Graig Markel certainly had lofty goals for his latest solo LP. The good news is that he mostly achieves them on the 10-song release, which is heavy on sparsely-populated acoustic ballads that ooze warm ambiance. Markel’s delivery is sleepy, but the occasional lap steel, piano and ukulele keep the arrangements interesting. And the Sun Kil Moon aspiration is warranted: Markel and Mark Kozelek have similar styles, and though Markel’s songs lack the sophistication of Kozelek’s, the pair would make for excellent collaborators.

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