Day Is The New Night

This is a set of heartland rock tunes boasting smart lyrics and cogent, incisive musicianship, served up with a youthful spirit tempered by experience. The Austin, Texas-based quartet renders its songs with no concessions to the pop/rock fads of the past thirty-odd years. Singer/guitarist James Stevens projects the All-American earnestness of vintage Petty or Springsteen, avoiding histrionic gestures in favor of straight-ahead confessions of desire and restlessness. Bolstered by Jacob Schulze’s bicep-flexing guitar riffs and the anchoring rhythms of bassist Jason Daniels and drummer Richard Galloway, he dishes out such crunchy rockers as “What Else Can I Say,” “Heat Lightning” and “Black River” with scruffy aplomb. The musing tone of “Distant Wheels” recalls John Lennon, while “The Easy Way Out” stirs up the summertime glow of ‘70s-era R&B. Especially winning are “Comes a Time” (a strong but tender ballad complete with strings) and “Not a Kid Anymore” (a minor-key rocker about growing older and possibly wiser).