The biggest surprise of the newest Tobin Srpout record is how much the former Guided By Voices guitarist sounds like Neil Young. I mean, there's nothing here on Empty Horse, out now via Fire Records, that one would mistake for the kind of work that would come from a colleague of Robert Pollard's. Still, that said, it's a fairly engaging release for those who are open-minded enough.
"The Man I Used To Know" is languid and full of the sound of open spaces, while "Breaking Down" uses a slide-guitar to great effect. Not entirely country-and-western, the style here is somewhere between old Neil and Robbie Roberston. Sprout doesn't do anything revolutionary with this form but he embraces fully enough to give this some heft. "Antietem" has a hint of The Byrds or Gram Parsons about it, while the fuzzier "All in My Sleep" is, of course, full of shades of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, but it's also got a distinctive, gentle appeal all its own.
Empty Horse is out now via Fire Records.
More details via the official website.