More than a dozen releases into David Dondero’s career, Inside the Cat’s Eye finds him more subdued than ever, with scarcely a distorted note to be found. This is a musician who, paradoxically, may be nearly as famous now for flying under the mainstream radar as he is for his actual music. It’s a bit of a tired narrative, but it’s easy enough to see how Dondero achieved his status as an indie folk “songwriter’s songwriter.” He can repeat a simple, stripped-down hook until it expands into something more, from the mournful “Capitol Buildings Bleed” and pedal steel-soaked “Bacon, Eggs & Beer” to the rudimentary plucking of “All My Love,” the unceremonious closer. Inside the Cat’s Eye is sparse and reflective and a little uncomfortable—territory that should be intimately familiar to anyone who’s been following David Dondero’s music over the years. –Indiana Laub (Koschke, koschkerecords.com)