Kasey Anderson
Nowhere Nights
With his fourth album, Anderson firmly entrenches himself in the tradition of Steve Earle, Graham Parker, Townes Van Zandt and other insurgents whose cynical perspective found them swimming against the tide. Alternately rowdy and remorseful, he stirs up a cantankerous brew, his smoky vocals perched atop ragtag arrangements and defiant posturing. A brace of raucous anthems (“All Lit Up,” “Sooner/Later,” “Nowhere Nights,” “Real Gone”) amp up the attitude, but it’s the more reflective moments, like “Bellingham Blues,” “From Now On” and “Like Teenage Gravity,” that reveal his tattered soul. Anderson remains grounded in standard roots-rock throughout, but veteran producer Eric Ambel uses his instrumental arsenal to shift the soundscapes in interesting ways.
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