Cass McCombs
PREfection
(Monitor/4AD)
released: February 7
rating: ***

You gotta feel a little sympathetic for Cass McCombs (yea, just one person, not a band, though it sounds kinda like a band name when people like Franz Ferdinand are out there). He had to cancel a tour with Modest Mouse. Which is a shame, because PREfection (be careful not to read that as PERfection, he's not that pretentious) will probably end up being one of the most overlooked records of early 2005. He's charming, slightly romantic, and carries some specific influences that you know are there but can't quite pinpoint. Perhaps some soul from the '60s, some Britpop from the '90s and chamber rock from '00s. It's pretty much a steady affair, with several cuts worthy of being in the rotation of a hip college radio station. By track eight, he surprises us with the upbeat, almost out of place "Bury Mary" and the wonderful "City of Brotherly Love," both of which will have you thinking "covers". But, impressively, they're not.

styles: Indie Rock, Chamber Pop, Singer/Songwriter
similar: Richard Hawley, Ken Stringfellow, Sondre Lerche, the Divine Comedy