More mythic America, than shiny, modern glamour, the steady yet loose folk-rock is rendered in a dry, vintage widescreen by Morby, effortlessly comfortable and confident throughout.
The titular City Music is an absorbing take on the interplay of a band such as Television mixed with Morby’s strong aesthetic, while opener Come to Me Now is mournful and lonesome, built on distant chords from an 1800s pump organ.
Overall, it doesn’t quite live up to last year’s Singing Saw, but it’s another strong outing.
• Kevin Morby. City Music. Dead Oceans.
• Three stars (out of five)
Single download: City Music
For those who like: Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Kurt Vile
— Sam Valentine
