blackleatherbookshelf | Oct. 6th, 2010

Ray LaMontagne Finds his Groove
4 Out of 5 Stars

From the opening funk of "Repo Man" to the final jerky chord in "Devil's In The Jukebox," Ray LaMontagne's fourth major label studio release kicks into a pocket that only his first came close to. Now totally self-produced and with a full band, LaMontagne sounds better than ever.

There's a lot of Dylan and Van Morrison again, especially on the steel-guitar centered "New York City's Killing Me." The production is less reverb heavy than on "Gossip In The Grain," and he seems over the heartache that fueled "Til The Sun Turns Black." "Beg Steal or Borrow" refects these changes in its countrified arrangements and the look back at what he's done since. "Your old friends...now they just bore you," he laments. At the same time, it feels like is creativity has made a huge leap.

Is LaMontagne a changed man then? Leaving producer Johns behind might seem so, this album's more homogenized sound also says yes. While the grittier and snarling "Repo Man" is the poppiest thing here, the remaining album rests nicely in a folk-country vein, without any clinkers like "Gossip's" "Meg White." "God Willin'" is easily one of the year's best from an artist that just continues to impress.