Rocky Votolato

The voice of Pacific Northwest post-punk heroes Waxwing does his Dashboard Confessional impression on this solo debut. Instead of the grinding rock of his main band, this disc finds Votolato in full acoustic guitar wielding troubadour mode. The album is filled with introspective and surprisingly gorgeous sad folk rock ballads that sound like a punky cross between Tom Petty and Sheryl Crow at times ("I'll Catch You") and old Goo Goo Dolls at others ("Secrets of a Salesman") — and no, that's not a put-down.