Adam Levy - Washing Day (2007)

Adam Levy's "day job" is playing guitar in Norah Jones' band. Not surprisingly, his own music holds some similarities to his boss'. They share certain laid-back musical qualities that swirl jazz, blues and country colorings into the singer/songwriter palette. In fact, Jones covered Levy's "In the Morning" on her Feels Like Home album. One main difference between the two, however, comes from the fact that Levy (not to be confused with the Adam Levy who fronts the Minneapolis roots rock band the Honeydogs) is a guitarist so his music naturally features a much more prominent guitar sound than Jones' piano-based music does. Not strictly a subtle strummer, Levy is not averse to attacking his guitar with enough ferocity to rattle the coffee cups at Starbucks. Both the blues "In the Morning" and the twangy stomper of a murder tale "I Shot Her Down" boast some raucous guitar work. Levy, however, doesn't showboat his guitar skills here, choosing instead to use his typically economical playing to service his songs. He fuels soulful rocker "I Can Promise You That" with a funky guitar line, while the jazzier "Breathe with Me" gets sparked by an eerie guitar figure that perfectly fits the song's nocturnal mood. When Levy slows down the pace on his spare, melancholic romantic laments "Unspoken" and "Longest Day of the Day," he suggest the craftsmanship of a Freedy Johnston. Levy's lyrical skills really shine on the evocatively rendered title track. He fills this relaxed early morning ode with little snapshots but then slips in the simple yet poetic observation -- "my secrets now just streaks of blue" -- after discovering an old, now laundered notebook in his dungarees. This disc opener bookends nicely with "The Party Is Over," a weary-eyed look at a long night that comes as the album winds down. The disc's concluding song, however, is something of a tempo-changer. "Never Been Alone Like This" is Levy's poppiest track, a jangly ditty that would improve any power pop album. Much like Jesse Harris has stepped out of Jones' shadow, Levy seems poised to do the same.