A Newcomer’s Addictive Folk Rock
Jeff Crosby isn’t pushing the boundaries of any genres on this album—he works well within the confines of traditional folk and rock—but that doesn’t mean you’ve heard it all before. This is unusually tuneful, well-hooked and atmospheric music, and it comes supercharged with jingle-jangle guitar work, road-weathered vocals and memorable, introspective lyrics. Tracks like “City Girls” and “Emily” will have you coming back for more of Waking Days; in fact, to borrow an old line from Lay’s potato chip commercials: bet you can’t play it just once.
Jeff Burger edited Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, both published by Chicago Review Press. He is working on a third book for the same publisher. His website, byjeffburger.com, contains more than four decades’ worth of music reviews and commentary.