Makers
Ex-Waxwing (Seattle band) frontman Rocky Votolato's third solo record is whispery and understated, full of regret but also the quiet resolve of a man looking forward to whatever's left. It's a warmer, more open record than his comparably feisty 2003 recordSuicide Medicine, and upon first listen it's tempting to say he's shaved too much off the edges. Keep listening, and the music opens like cracks in a desert, split up and fractured by Votolato's dusty tales of desperation and fleeting redemption. He starts the record with "White Daisy Passing," singing lyrics like "I'm going down to sleep/On the bottom of the ocean/'Cause I couldn't let go" that contrast with the song's gentle gallop and Simon & Garfunkel aesthetics. Folk and country influences appear in the hand slap rhythm and harmonica of "Tinfoil Hats," along with the Dust Bowl dystopia of "The Night's Disguise." From the sound ofMakers, Votolato's having a hard time putting his past in the past. But if he keeps putting out such lovely and evocative music, he has a solid career as a solo artist ahead of him at the very least.–Matthew Cooke