Super XX Man...

I've posted about Super XX Man before. In fact, I think it was just a few a months ago. But he released a new record last month on Hush Records called A Better Place and you can tell from its sound that things are a bit different in the super xx life. The big change is that Mr. Man is now a daddy. Believe me, I know how that rearranges the world view, and you can really hear it in these songs. Where as his last record X had a world view that was if not sinister than certainly cynical, odd jabs of discontentment that seemed aimed at his little woman, the new record seems very settled both lyrically and musically. The record is far more "folk" than X, less pop and minor chord storytelling. It definitely feels more of the bedroom lo-fi singer-songwriter variety. This style fits these songs well. When Mr. Man reveals his worries about bringing his child into a world both confused and uncertain, those sentiments are bouyed by a deceptively simple and very pretty melody. And Mr. Man (that's Scott Garred by the by) certainly knows his way around a melody. It's a good record: hopeful, wide eyed and a little wary.

1 song from A Better Place:

Rain Keeps Falling