Ryan Auffenberg was in a band called Halsted but now he's gone solo. His new album, Daisy Chain, dropped yesterday and it's a batch of affecting Americana-tinged compositions with traces of folk-rock peeking through the seams.
Some songs here, like the buoyant "Lift Me Up", made me think of stuff form Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, while others, like the gentle title track, made think of earlier precursors like James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. Ryan Auffenberg has a real knack for making this material work so well, given how simple lots of this is. A number like "Don't Call It Love" suggests a more complicated approach, one that would place Auffenberg closer to Michael Penn, say, than the more maintream sounds he's pursuing here. Still, given that, some of this, namely the bright "Siren Song" indicates that Ryan Auffenberg is probably capable of chasing his own muse while making music that is fairly catchy.
Daisy Chain is out now.
More details on Daisy Chain and Ryan Auffenberg via the official site, or Ryan's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Ryan's Facebook page]