Charming the Gods

Charming the Gods, the debut album from Santa Monica-based Brian Kelley, combines earnest strumming with equally earnest lyrics for a result that is sometimes touching and emotive, and other times syrupy and derivative. The bluesy "Angels" sounds like a shrine built to Eric Clapton, while the next track, "She Crawls" adds a metal edge to Kelley's folky wail — the song is one of the most heavily produced on the album and is the furthest from his usual acoustic style, but it is smoothly executed and actually works well. The album was almost entirely recorded outside of the studio — mostly in Kelley's apartment and the background noise (baseball games on the radio, children playing on the street) is charming at first but intrusive by the end, especially on the quieter songs. There is a thread of spirituality that runs throughout which helps ground the world-weary sensitivity —a quality that sometimes sounds a little precious coming from someone so young (the jacket art makes Kelley look not a day over 30). Overall, this seems to be a deeply personal record that employs some interesting musical textures to support occasionally brilliant songwriting.