I'm OK, You're OK

The performances and productions on Jason Falkner's first two albums were so perfect that listeners may have thought it was easy for Falkner to write and record his bittersweet love songs. Not the case, fortunately or not, and Falkner entered a fallow period during the 2000s — he recorded often, and toured with Air, but released only scattered material (an EP, a collection of early demos, and a children's lullaby album). I'm OK You're OK finally appeared in 2007, bearing recordings from 2001 through 2007 and sounding like a true follow-up to Presents Author Unknown and Can You Still Feel? Self-produced and virtually self-played, the album doesn't stray too far from the jagged power pop of his earlier releases, although there's a bit of edge taken off. From the evidence of "This Time," "Stephanie Tells Me," and "Hurricane," Falkner is still well aware of how to write clever hooks and wrap beguiling arrangements around them.