Cass McCombs, one of the few artists to emerge from the Baltimore music scene in the past few years who doesn't have a fetish for neon or ironic Casio keyboards, is releasing his third LP, Dropping the Writ, later this year. CMG wasn't so hyped about his last album, the less-than-stellar PREfection, but McComb's excellent 2003 debut, A -- not to mention the fact that he has one of the best crooner voices in indie rock -- makes his return something worth anticipating. What really has me excited, though, is the lead single.

"That's That" is lean, to the point, and easily one of the best songs McCombs has managed to date. His choices can be a bit too enamored with their own theatricality; a problem that has in the past upstaged the impressive cleverness of his lyrics. Thankfully, he's pulled it together for this one. The central melodic idea is pared back to a rolling bass line, letting the story come to the fore and putting most of the weight on his vocals. "You were older / and I was hard pressed for action / could you tell?" he sings, setting the tone for a decidedly off-kilter love song. He nails the delivery too, singing patently strange lines with a straight face and a soaring tenor that would make Andrew Bird envious. Let's hope he's able to keep it this focused in for all of Dropping the Writ.

permanent link ::