Daniel Romano

In tracing the evolution of former Attack in Black singer Daniel Romano as a classic country songwriter, one can hear the steady formation of a distinct sonic landscape pulsing hard and true through the veins of that heart wrenching, '70's-era honky tonk sound. Building from his solo debut, Workin' for the Music Man (2010), to Sleep Beneath the Willow (2011), this landscape has become so vivid, so exquisitely entrenched in bygone lyricism and traditional arrangements that with a title like Come Cry with Me, listeners know exactly where Romano is taking them. For country music fans, it's a majestic place. With a nasally purr like Willie Nelson's, Romano croons earnestly across these ten tracks of whiskey-drowned memories and the ladies lost between the bars. "Middle Child" jangles sunny steel guitar and all-female harmonies with the tragic musings of an abandoned son, contrasting human sentiments in the style of George Jones. Love ballads "Two Pillow Sleeper" and "Just Before The Moment" build upon the backbone of a gently plodding drum line, laced neatly by twangy guitar strums and lush harmonies. Stripped-down closing track "A New Love (Can Be Found)" is a sheer force; it echoes with a weighty strength for listeners to lean on. A record this sturdy in composition and delivery has the resilience to stand up to countless plays, and that timeless ache for a good, hard cry.