10/7/19:
Workin' it

Los Angeles is a pretty great place to be if you want to be a songwriter. There are literally hundreds of television shows that need incidental music, not to mention the thousands of producers of indie movies that hope their project is the next Reservoir Dogs or something. That and all of those TV shows and movies need music directors--real money for a real job that still allows an artist to artist on the side. So that's cool.



Shane Alexander
A Life Like Ours
(self-released)

Shane Alexander is one of those creatures. He's had plenty of songs show up in the background, including "I'll Be Here" from this set, which found its way onto "The Rookie." I'm not putting this down at all; art is inextricably linked to commerce. And L.A. is a great place to exploit those links.

Alexander plays something like americana pop. He often starts with an acoustic guitar line and then eases into some poppy bliss. Kinda like early solo Paul Simon, though not as eloquent (again, not a dig in the slightest). This is his seventh set, and from what I have been able to peruse of his earlier work, this is a further distillation of his talent. Alexander has a knack for the modest elegy, songs that feel like slow-burn descants. You know, the sort of thing that makes sunset and a bourbon go down that much easier.

Among his other pursuits, Alexander produces other L.A. artists. That skill is also ably demonstrated here. The songs have a lovely ringing quality that emphasize Alexander's skill with song carpentry. The easy confidence in the sound is infectious.

Yes, this is the sound of the left coast, a hazy decadence that simply doesn't translate to those of us in the rat race-driven east. But it probably should. After all, life is good, even with all the batshit. And life goes down so much better with sunsets and bourbon. Nice to be reminded of that now and again.

Jon Worley


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