As Neil Young invests his energy into making “ecologically focused” albums and Ryan Adams slides sycophantically into Taylor Swift’s squad, there’s a gap in the market for an earnest Americana frontman. Rock producer and sometime singer-songwriter Ethan Johns certainly has the creative vision to scale the heights of rootsy solo guitar music, but his lyrical prowess is lacking. His third solo album is full of atmospheric desert rock and country – think Wilco, Laura Marling, moody e-bows and finger-picked guitars – but while he masters the woozy, scorched sonics, he is not the captivating wordsmith such songs traditionally require. Cue rhyming couplet cliches (“It feels good to be home / You don’t have to make it on your own”), and even some moments reminiscent of David Brent’s Free Love Freeway (“Sweet lady of the darkness, won’t you huddle round this flame”). Spot on for the sounds, but not the storytelling.
