With his lackadaisical pop smarts and affection for 1970s soft rock,
Tex Crick
seems like a natural fit to be the first signee to
Mac DeMarco
's personal imprint,
Mac's Record Label
. An Australian keyboardist who has spent the first part of his career playing sideman to fellow Aussie eccentrics like
Connan Mockasin
and
Kirin J. Callinan
,
Crick
has come a long way from the small coastal town of Coledale where he grew up. Renting an apartment in New York between touring commitments, he began apprenticing as a piano tuner and repair technician while honing his songwriting skills on a little refurbished upright he'd snagged off the street. His intimate home recordings were often made with the windows open, letting the sounds of the city mingle with his effortless melodies and mellow voice. While not a concert album, his solo debut,
Live Inâ?¦New York City
, lives up to its name in spontaneity and easy charm. With knowing nods to
Harry Nilsson
Randy Newman
finds that sweet spot between heart and humor on gems like "Nothing Will Change My Mind" and "Sometimes I Forget," decorating his breezy love songs with a bit of mid-'70s studio flair that recalls
Seals & Crofts
or
Steely Dan
. As a pianist, he plays with a casual elegance that suggests hard-earned chops well beyond his years and while his vocal talents are limited,
is smart enough to write for his range and peculiar timbre. Supporting about a half-dozen lengthier songs are brief instrumental cuts and interludes that add to the album's almost conversational tone. Like
DeMarco
(who also mixed the record),
has musical talent to spare, but almost shrugs it off with his low-key demeanor. Also like
, his sense of humor extends beyond the music: For the album's cover photo, he hired a private detective to secretly follow him around for a day, posing as a cheating husband. The resulting unselfconscious image of a jacketed
strolling through Central Park on a late autumn day couldn't have been staged any better. ~ Timothy Monger