Fear of Flying

When Bruce Springsteen released Nebraska in 1982, it proved that the lowly four-track recorder, beloved by altruistic and introverted songwriters worldwide, was destined for more than just testing out dual harmonic guitar leads and capturing off-the-cuff moments of frenzied lyrical inspiration. Bedrooms, garages, and basements (in the right hands) are more than capable of producing quality music, a notion that Seattle-based David Karsten Daniels gives resonance to on his fine sophomore release, Fear of Flying. Daniels may not possess the strongest of singing voices, but he knows how to wrap it around words with the confidence of a seasoned performer, echoing everyone from head Mountain Goat John Darnielle to the Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano. On first listen, sparse tracks like "Wheelchairs," "Caretakers," and "In My Child Mind You Were a Lion" seem almost Luddite in their lack of sonic affections, but they supply the breath between the chilly, inventive, and occasionally lush pop vistas that are "Martha Ann," "That Knot Unties?," "Falling Down," and "Oh, Heaven Isn't Real." The latter of the three, with its raucous chorus and not-so-subtle hoedown backbeat, may scream "novelty," but it's a Stephin Merritt-inspired singalong classic for the secularly inclined that makes the album closer, "Evensong," which is simply the Lord's Prayer sung over gently fingerpicked guitar and strings, so lovely and odd.