Phoenix musician Jason P. Woodbury has an expansive vision. It's something that anchors his new record, Jason P. Woodbury and The Night Bird Singing Quartet. An ambitious record, this one takes some chances. That it succeeds as often as it does is enough to recommend it.
Opener "Birdsong" is pure Father John Misty, with Woodbury sounding remarkably like the guy. The brighter "What Else is New" is Wilco-y, and super catchy. The lyrical concerns of Woodbury here on Jason P. Woodbury and The Night Bird Singing Quartet are big ones: God, America, all that. But even so, numbers like "Get to Meet Them" pull at the heart in an impressive fashion. Still, it's the twang-y strum of "When I Get Lonesome (Again)" and others which makes Woodbury's music so enjoyable.
Fans of Grant Lee Buffalo, The Jayhawks, and Gin Blossoms will find parts of this Jason P. Woodbury album familiar, and right up their alley. Woodbury manages to inject enough personality into the tracks here that what could have been rather routine has an oddball charm to it. Jason P. Woodbury and The Night Bird Singing Quartet is leftfield Americana which is recommended very much.
Jason P. Woodbury and The Night Bird Singing Quartet by Jason P. Woodbury is out now. Details via Bandcamp.
[Photo Mario Vega]