David Crosby’s first solo studio album in two decades has a pleasingly jazzy feel, the arrangements full of blocky piano chords and big string bass which, with Crosby’s much-envied harmonies, create a pleasant fug. Tracks such as What’s Broken (which has fluid guitar from Mark Knopfler) have heavy hints of west coast AOR, a sound that in his leftfield way Crosby did much to create; the six-minute Dangerous Night adds a hip-hoppish beat to the mix. Standouts? The folky/eastern The Clearing plays with time and key signatures before a nice squelchy synth line kicks in, while Radio has a catchy chorus and shuffling drums. If She Called is like a sparse, seedy counterpart to Guinnevere, and Morning Falling, with its subdued beats and high vocals, sounds almost like latter-day Radiohead. Hymn to non-attachment Set That Baggage Down, with its jangling electric guitar, is more of a foot-tapper than the subject matter suggests.
