Running through nine songs in just under 33 minutes, Candidate Waltz isn't an epic, and in many respects that works to its favor -- while the album's studiocraft is excellent and Johnson's instincts as a songwriter are as sure as ever, this music sounds fresh, confident, and just a bit edgy, not like the work of a band whose members have been worrying over their material while biding their time in the studio. Producers Scott Solter and Matt Pence have given these performances a sound that's careful and well constructed without squeezing the life out of the band, and Johnson and his multi-instrumentalist partners Scott Danbom, Mark Hedman, and Pence have summoned up a web of sounds behind the songs that's clever and emotionally resonant at the same time, complementing the thoughtful and frequently melancholy heart that lurks beneath Johnson's tunes no matter how cheerful or rollicking they seem on the surface.
Condition: Brand New Factory Sealed
TRACK LISTING
1 Against the Line 3:19
2 All the Takers 5:23
3 Iso-Residue 2:21
4 Estimate X 3 3:35
5 Only In My Double Mind 4:02
6 Solid States 3:11
7 Shadow, Follow Me 3:00
8 Mercedes Blast 4:35
9 If They Talk You Down 3:27
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