Reinventing the Wheel

Andy Gullahorn’s albums are quiet affairs filled with bittersweet melodies and minutely observed lyric insights and Reinventing the Wheel finds his talents continuing to deepen. The humility and sweetness of Gullahorn’s songs recall the early days of the Jesus Music movement; his deft guitar fingerpicking brings to mind such folk/pop icons as Paul Simon and David Wilcox. As a vocalist, his low-key style allows him to slip into the background as he presents vignettes of everyday struggle and unexpected grace. Fear and pride haunt the protagonists of such poignant narratives as “Original Cliché” and “Desperate Man.” Gullahorn includes himself among the walking wounded in “That Guy,” a poignant reaffirmation of God’s abiding love. A sense of mercy for the downtrodden infuses “Holy Ground” with a hymn-like glow. Though a sober tone pervades the album, Andy flashes a wry sense of humor on “More of a Man” and “Give it Time,” a pair of tunes that comment upon his family life. Reinventing the Wheel is a sterling creation, the work of a song-poet who doesn’t need to shout to be heard.