If I were having an affair – which, believe me, honey, I’m not – Adam Levy’s new CD Washing Day would be the perfect soundtrack for it. There’s something so intimate about the low-key performances – just a guitar, bass, and drums – that you almost feel as if this guy’s sitting on your living room sofa with his acoustic guitar, sharing intimate secrets in a disarmingly husky voice.
I know I shouldn’t assume that a songwriter’s material is autobiographical, but if I were Mrs. Levy – if there ever was, or still is, a Mrs. Levy – I’d watch my back. “I Can Promise You That” is a bristly, funky track about a sneaking-around afternoon affair; “In the Morning” (which Levy’s sometime boss Norah Jones appropriated for her Feels Like Home album) is given a disturbingly sexy rendition, writhing with passion for a woman he can’t openly have. Then there’s the “I Put A Spell On You” – no, not the old Coleman Hawkins standard, but an even more menacing number, despite its dawdling bluesy rhythms, about a romantic pursuit that’s darn close to stalking. (“Spanish moss and angel wings / And a lock of your hair / I light a crimson candle / And say a midnight prayer.”) It sends shivers up my spine; I’m just not sure what kind of shivers they are.
The music biz being an unfair place, Adam Levy has been hacking around for a while; this is his fourth solo CD, yet I’ve never heard of the guy before. He’s probably best known as Norah Jones’ star guitarist, which is no mean credential. His roots lie in jazz, which I should have guessed from the edgy rhythms and tonal surprises on Washing Day, though it’s firmly in the rock tradition, with more than a touch of country and folk bleeding through as well.
Given the quality of the songwriting here, I’d bet Adam Levy would love to be better known as a solo singer/songwriter. He deserves to be, that’s for sure. Given his considerable guitar chops, he’s resisted the impulse to show off his virtuosity with extended solo breaks; they’re on there, but they’re totally organic to the songs. He lets the focus remain on his conversational storytelling, each song a slightly off-center Polaroid of life’s messy turmoils.
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