When
A.A. Bondy
was lead singer for
Verbena
, the band was often accused of lifting large portions of its sound and style from
the Rolling Stones
(on its first album) and
Nirvana
(on
Into the Pink
). So with that history, it makes a certain sense that
Bondy
's second solo effort,
When the Devil's Loose
, recalls another artist, in this case
Ryan Adams
. The largest part of this comes from
's voice, which bears a reasonable aural resemblance to
Adams
and his sweetly jaded tone, though
shows off a bit more sonic weight and a less studied demeanor. But the music isn't all that far away from
either, though if this is by design rather than accident, at least
has the good sense to embrace the straightforward and emotionally powerful sound of
Heartbreaker
rather than the more scattershot style of
' subsequent solo efforts. Most of
was cut with just a bassist (
Macey Taylor
) and drummer (
Paul Buchignani
) accompanying
and his guitar, and the sessions have an air of gentle melancholy that brings out their graceful balance of
blues
and
country
accents; the minimal backing emphasizes the late-night vibe of the music, and the deep lonesome wanderings of the melodies are an ideal match for the downbeat storytelling of
"On the Moon,"
"Oh the Vampyre,"
"The Coal Hits the Fire."
Bruce Watson
's production is subtle and nonintrusive, and that works beautifully in favor of the songs, which clearly play best without excess gingerbread and with
's voice and lyrics placed front and center.
might share some reference points with another singer/songwriter with a similar offhand affection for roots music, but
seems to be developing a voice of his own despite all the surface similarities, and the result is a quietly powerful album of songs that cut deeper into the heart and soul than you might expect at first glance. ~ Mark Deming