Sean Rowe

There was a time early in the careers of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits when it seemed they were hotly competing to see who would be considered the more authentic street poet. On Magic, Sean Rowe takes the middle ground, combining some of Springsteen's East coast Catholic angst with Waits's West coast variety. What immediately jumps out though is Rowe's deep, smoky voice, hovering above the ethereal arrangements like a dark cloud. It really wakes up on intense travelogue "Jonathan," although its arrangement isn't indicative of the rest of the album's overall meditative, bluesy vibe. There's a lot of Leonard Cohen in Rowe's work too, and if he can keep crafting lyrics as descriptive and emotional as those on Magic, he will surely have to be considered one of America's most promising young songwriters.