Do we need another Americana-oriented singer-songwriter?
Because that’s what Jon Rooney is – offering ten stripped-back tunes, evoking a sparsely-furnished home studio where they were surely recorded. But the songs here are delivered with such wit and effortless cool that you can’t help but be absorbed into Rooney’s world.
Evoking Lou Reed and Bill Callahan, the slower, stripped-back tracks are perhaps standard fare for anyone yearning guitar rock, but lyrically is where he makes his mark – even with the titles, like ‘Spooky, Stony, Barely Over Thirty’.
And when in band mode, as on opener ‘Cardinal Points’ the Pavement-like slacker delivery is irresistible. Yes, there’s always room for songs this good.