Artist: Alejandro Escovedo Album: Burn Something Beautiful Bitrate: 254kbps avg Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz Label: Fantasy Recrds Genre: Rock Size: 92.64 megs PlayTime: 0h 48min 22sec total Rip Date: 2017-01-27 Store Date: 2017-01-20 Track List: -------- 01. Horizontal 3:34 02. Heartbeat Smile 3:34 03. Sunday Moring Feeling 3:41 04. Suit Of Lights 4:25 05. Redemption Blues 3:31 06. Shave The Cat 3:06 07. Johnny Volume 4:48 08. Beauty Of Your Smile 3:06 09. I Don't Want To Play Guitar 3:43 Anymore 10. Beauty And The Buzz 3:59 11. Luna De Miel 2:56 12. Farewell To The Good Times 3:44 13. Untitled Bonus 4:15 Release Notes: -------- On his 12th album, Burn Something Beautiful, Alejandro Escovedo says a couple of times that heÆs ôgot nothing left to sayö, or that ôthereÆs no stories left to sayö. It isnÆt true, of course, or else he and co-conspirators Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck would have put out a bland instrumental album. What we do find with Escovedo here is a sense of coming to the end, of putting down guitars and wrapping up loves and saying farewells. Throughout the album, though, he finds peace, or at least a peace with transition, and this tension between calm and loss makes for a steady center through an emotional and exploratory album. The explorations shouldnÆt come as a surprise; after all, EscovedoÆs fought hepatitis-C, gotten married, survived a hurricane, moved a couple thousand miles and picked up some new collaborators for a supergroup backing band. HeÆs willing to sing to us repeatedly that something is ôalrightö, but not out of a sense of complacency. Rather, his new songs reveal yearning and desire even as he shows us where to settle into a good spot. It might go without saying, but when the girl with the hazel eyes kisses you, go where she goes. Likewise, Escovedo stays true to his central aesthetic even while pushing some new sounds. ThereÆs a little bit of Nick Cave running through the album (or maybe itÆs just the shadows around the thoughts), but Escovedo moves out in a few ways. For instance, ôShave the Catö doesnÆt quite know what to be. ItÆs a musical nod to ôBang a Gongö, but it scans like an aging answer to ôLong Live Rockö. ItÆs hard to judge EscovedoÆs tone here, as itÆs a rocker that wonÆt speed up and wonÆt quite be silly in the middle of a reflective (but rarely somber) album. In contrast, ôSuit of Lightsö feels like a Warren Zevon track, especially on the questioning chorus. Kelly Hogan adds vocals here, and her verse marks one of the albumÆs highlights, with direct lines like ôWatched you shower / Watched you bathe / A bucket of blood in every note I playedö bringing a completeness to the coupleÆs identity concerns. ôHeartbeat Smileö provides classic pop songwriting (in fact, the opening riff and melodic sensibilities could have come from the æ60s, but the performance is contemporary), while ôHorizontalö sticks to upbeat rock, and opens the album as its catchiest track. Throughout all of these sounds, Escovedo drives the guitars forward and pushes at whatever heÆs doing; he makes his statements at the edge of his reach, but with desire unsatisfied. On ôRedemption Bluesö, he steps furthest into the darkness, skirting violence without really threatening. He sings, ôSomeday IÆll find redemption / IÆll find a little peaceö, yet the tinge of country blues never lets in the light, so it feels odd in the middle of an album largely about coming to understanding. As an anomaly, though, itÆs indicative of EscovedoÆs writing at the moment. His sense of ôalrightö and reconciliation to his life isnÆt about easy peace; itÆs about finding his spot in the midst of those storms and crises, and while that so often sounds settled on Burn Something Beautiful, songs like this one remind us that thereÆs always moreùthereÆs always a past and always somewhere to get to. As bleak as the song is, it still offers the hope that peace and knowledge can come to us (a sentiment thatÆs truer the more you repeat it). With complex feelings in accessible songs, Escovedo makes a full statement on his latest release. ItÆs easy on the ears and surprising in-between them, making it a strong moment from a confident artist whoÆs only as settled as he wants to be.