Mix tapes are a remarkable thing, often serving as collections of our absolute favorite songs strung together, like a child’s dream team of their favorite sport, only for music nerds. But that’s the main reason we love them; they’re collections of our (or, our friends/admirers/etc. etc.) songs that we’ve listened to over and over again. I bring this up because this solo record goes back and forth genre wise, from simple folk to some electronic jams, as if trying to recreate that feeling, as if it were an “original” mix tape, so to speak. The problem is the familiarity isn’t there, so while I think the songs are pretty good on their own, it’s a bit tough to listen to in one sitting. I could be wrong though, and realize that it’s just more of a “grower” record than I have time for before I send in the review. Here’s to hoping.
–joe (Drazzig, www.myspace.com/chrisstrawn)