David Vandervelde is a multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter who has also earnt a crust as a recording engineer and producer. At age 19 he moved to Chicago and shacked up (as in lived in and shared a studio with and ate, drank and slept music: no hanky-panky) with Jay Bennett (ex-Wilco) for two years whilst both created their own solo releases. Vandervelde's debut of exhuberant classic Bolan/Bowie sounding rock, The Moonstation House Band, was released early last year. From that time he can also be heard on Bennett's Bigger than Blue and The Magnificent Defeat, and the favour is returned with one song written by Bennett here. A move away has given Vandervlede's new album a more introspective feel encouraged by severing his social and musical ties - it was written largely alone in a flat in New York with an acoustic guitar.

'I Will Be Fine' is a gorgeous winning start - blending a sweet George Harrison vocal with the warm golden sound of Bread. It's a calling card for a seventies soft rock feel that permeates most of the album, and definitely worth 79p of anyone's money. The following tracks find us still hanging out amicably in Laurel Canyon country without being as memorable, but 'Someone Like You' is another likeable tune that sticks. 'Old Turns' preaches searching for inner happiness first before material greed and mutual respect between young and old. He's a nice boy at heart. 'Cryin' Like the Rain' is straight from the Elliott Smith school of rock. The remaining third, sprinkled across the album, is more hard-nosed - aiming towards a Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young. Bruised and bleeding guitar solos punctuate more lumbering and repetitive grungy songs; like 'Hit The Road' that lacks real fiery conviction and never quite took me along for the bluesy ride. 'Knowledge of Evil' is also verging on laboured. 'Lyin' in Bed' however is more vocally passionate and has enough bite to sustain its six minutes plus, with the last 3 minutes of aching guitar work reminiscent of the tail of Wilco's 'At Least That's What You Said'.

The not completely convincing harder rocking facet of the album left an overall dissappointing aftertaste from my first few spins. A listen on a sunny day managed to put it in, quite literally, a different light with the silky smooth tracks winning through, but this might be transient and methinks an objective scoring should not be dependent on the weather. If I always have to wait for the sun to shine it might not get on my playlist too often, but that opener is solid AM gold. 58% Links David Vandervelde [official site] [myspace]