Lonesome

Musically, there have been quite a few generation gaps over the years. There were members of the World War II generation who adored Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, and Peggy Lee but swore up and down that they couldn't, for the life of them, get into Henry Burr, Billy Murray, or any of the other World War I-era pop singers their parents craved in the pre-crooner 1910s; there were Jimi Hendrix-loving, Led Zeppelin-worshipping, Motown-adoring baby boomers who refused to listen to Jo Stafford or the Ink Spots because that was "Mom and Dad's music, not my music." But younger musicians don't necessarily reject music from previous generations; in some cases, they cherish it — which is what the Rosewood Thieves do on Lonesome. Rosewood Thieves vocalist Erick Jordan was only in his early 20s when this 22-minute EP came out in 2007; that puts him right in the Gen-Y/Millennial/Echo-Boomer/post-Gen-X demographic, but musically, Lonesome gets a lot of inspiration from the folk-rock, roots rock, and singer/songwriter music of the '60s and '70s. Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Band, and other baby boomer influences assert themselves on restrained, understated tracks like "A Bullet Painted Red," "Murder Ballad in G Minor," and the melancholy "California Moon," but never in a way that is the least bit ironic. Jordan's performances are full of earnestness, and he comes across as someone who is simply interested in providing quality music regardless of which generation a particular style might be identified with. Lonesome doesn't pretend to be the least bit groundbreaking, but it's a consistently likable demonstration of what the Rosewood Thieves have to offer the folk-rock, indie rock, and roots rock scenes.