Another Life

Leicester, England’s James Maddock has nestled into New York City's Lower East Side for a decade, building a network of friends and fans who paid for the making of this fine album. Producer Matt Pierson, bassist Tony Scherr (Norah Jones), and multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) fill out these adult contemporary folk-rock tunes with all the right guitars and keyboard lines until they burst into Technicolor. Tunes such as “Another Life” and “Arizona Girl” are immediately literate and emotionally resonant enough to turn a head or two, but it’s the catchy and learned “I’ve Been There Too”—where Maddock adds an extra spring to his step—that delivers in the clutch. The gentle acoustic piece “Leicestershire Mist” brings back the Englishman’s early memories. “What Have I Done?,” “Strategies for Life,” and “Better on My Own” delve into the questions everyone thinks of at some point in their lives. The former leader of the band Wood, Maddock has remained a favorite of adult alternative radio stations, whose format seems tailor-made for his traditional instrumentation and heartfelt sentiments.