Previously leader of the New York-based experimental jazz-folk collective Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice, James Jackson Toth's solo debut is a lush take on alt-country informed by blues, soul and, occasionally, punk. Whereas Wooden Hand ... was very much an avant-garde concern, Waiting In Vain is comparatively conventional, meandering improv conspicuous only in its absence. No twenty minute excursions into free jazz territory here but dreamy, harmonious pop bedecked with gorgeous semi-acoustic guitar and piano. For the most part Waiting In Vain creates a somnambulant drift at odds with Toth's gritty lyrics about the kind of seedy, low-life characters that inhabit the corners of bars in Charles Bukowski novels. Like Lambchop's Nixon, minus the orchestral embellishments, Toth turns his blue-collar tales of ordinary madness into breezy, soul-tinged country. In the wistful, sometimes romantic mood I also hear similarities to Richard Hawley's retro dream pop, but the textural sweetness belies Toth's more transgressive lyrics.The first two tracks offer the kind of countrified pop that recalls a more vocally robust, less whispery version of Calexico and Iron & Wine's fine collaborative EP In the Reins. Unhurried and economical, I am also reminded of Beach House and English slowcore merchants Tram, but with that yearning Memphis twang so rooted in the American South. Opener 'Nothing Hides' chugs along on a persistent, scrabbly rhythm, sweetened with a beautifully played hollow-body electric. 'Doreen', arguably the album's most immediate track, hints at the reverb-heavy rockabilly of Roy Orbison or his latter-day disciple Chris Isaak. "You tell me I ain't your Dad, but I'm better than the one you had", he croons, ominously, before gracing us with a delicously sultry guitar lick straight out of the Fleetwood Mac book of, er, sultry guitar licks. 'The Banquet Styx' is Zappa-esque psych pop with a great fade out which, like the best ones do, dissolves the track just as it seems to peak.'Look In On Me' and 'Poison Oak' are both brilliant, John Lennon-esque piano ballads, which both seem to have studied carefully the vocal reverb on the former Beatles man's debut record, to eerie effect, but you can't question Toth's own gifts for melody. “Cocaine and bourbon ... pinball and pool”, he drawls on 'Look in On Me' - 'Imagine' this isn't. There is a feverish gospel hue to the rollicking 'Beulah The Good' that peaks into ecstatic, jangly rockabilly with harmonies courtesy of Toth's wife, Jexie, who provides backing vocals on a number of tracks. The similarly raucous country-rock of 'The Park' is closer to the middle of the road but also ends with a satisyingly joyous cacophony. By contrast 'Do What You Can' is an aching ballad with haunting, weeping guitars low in the mix and a beautiful solo.Veteran producer Steve Fisk was evidently tasked with giving 'Waiting In Vain' its polish and precision, while a cast of seasoned players from the likes of Deerhoof and Wilco have added to its considerable colour. A bit of judicious editing, however, might have enhanced this otherwise impressive debut. The summery daydream of 'The Nightwatchman' is a little slight, while the closer 'The Dome' doesn't quite justify it's seven-minute run time. Even if I am a sucker for handclaps, the rocker 'My Paint' seems rather throwaway. Furthermore, Toth's storytelling can sometimes be a bit self-consciously mythic, a little contrived and even overwrought, arguably making the album a little emotionally distant. But the wealth of ideas ensure that Waiting in Vain is always engaging, and for all the variety of style it somehow melds together into a blissful, homogenous whole. 80%James Jackson Toth on MySpace