Eric Chenaux

Accomplished guitarist and songwriter Eric Chenaux outdoes himself on the contemplatively whimsical Sloppy Ground, a romantic record that calls upon the broad history of improvisation in jazz and country music for its rich pop tone. Sloppy Ground is an unequivocally beautiful follow-up to Chenaux’s 2006 release, Dull Lights, and, in many respects, it’s more prepared and song-oriented, but its circumstances are curious. The skilled improvisers Chenaux’s assembled bring refined spirit to each song and, unlike Dull Lights, their leader barely tweaked these tunes from their original conception. That fresh focus shines on the spellbinding groove of "Love Don’t Change,” the psychedelic march of "Have I Lost My Eyes” and the medieval balladry of "Old Peculiar.” Lyrically, Chenaux explore the nuances of love, the seemingly small aspects of which inform reciprocal relationships. On starkly rendered narratives like "Am I Lovely” and "Rest Your Daylights,” Chenaux’s songs sail forward, bolstered by the warm undercurrent that makes Sloppy Ground so affirming.