Tim O'Reagan was part of the Lawrence-Legendary duo the Leatherwoods that was primarily known as a vehicle for Todd Newman. The two were from Topeka, went to KU and played around. To get in touch with a bigger scene, they moved to Minneapolis and created a well-received album that went relatively unnoticed nationally. After the break-up, Newman stayed active putting out his high-quality power-pop now and again. O'Reagan kept playing drums and caught the attention of Joe Henry. He did work for Henry and later, became a full-time member of the Minneapolis alt-country band, The Jayhawks. As a multi-instrumentalist, he wrote a number of songs for the Jayhawks so a solo-LP shouldn't come as surprise.
Once the Jayhawks took a hiatus in 2005, O'Reagan started working his first, and so far only, solo LP. It doesn't stray far from where O'Reagan has always been. It's a heavy dose of alternative country with numerous nods to power-pop and heavy on British Invasion influences. Much of this LP wouldn't be out of place on any of the big alt country acts, be it the Jayhawks or even Wilco, it's quality. His voice is a bit hushed and gentle making his albums feel a lot like a Josh Rouse album if you're familiar with his work.
Also interesting, the hype sticker in the top right advises you the vinyl album features two cuts that weren't featured on the CD. Which, yeah, people were doing in 2006 and may still do. Which is funny, because in the late-90's when records were being killed off, you got the bonus tracks on the CDs.
Anybody's Only
No comments:
Post a Comment