Jason Eady at ease with his world and his work on his assured sixth album

Jason Eady, a recent visitor to Ireland – he played a few gigs in the west with his wife, the singer Courtney Patton – is no overnight success, but his sixth album has the fine-grained assurance of someone who knows what they're about. That it is self-titled is further evidence that this Texas-based singer-songwriter is at ease with his world and his work. And he should be. His partnership with the Americana producer Kevin Welch leads him away from Nashville's pop tendency towards the Texan storytelling tradition of the likes of Guy Clark. So these 10 songs are framed in down-home country-folk arrangements, Eady's soft twang earnest but not overbearing. The songs are also strong; the confessional 40 Years, the reflective Not Too Loud (about his daughter), the vivid Barabbas and No Genie in This Bottle, and the irresistible, soft-rocking Waiting to Shine.

[ jasoneady.com ]