Lions [LP]

Hirsute Midwest singer/songwriter William Fitzsimmons has a knack for crafting incredibly measured (almost hypnotically so), deeply personal, largely finger-picked folk confections that flirt with AOR pop without losing any of their artisan luster. Produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla (Tegan and Sara, the Decemberists), Lions dispenses with some of the electronic flourishes that crept into 2011's Gold in the Shadow. Walla's tape loops and synths reside largely in the shadows, allowing Fitzsimmons' easy voice, which falls somewhere between the breathy earnestness of Sufjan Stevens and the steady, deep water thrum of Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips, ample stage room with which to strut and fret its hour. ~ James Christopher Monger