An outfit spearheaded by the Jersey City songwriter and guitarist Chris Gennone, CR & The Nones brings us 10 tracks of thoughtful, sincere and personal stories on this sophomore affair while enlisting some excellent guest musicians, too.
The hazy synth of the title track opens the listen, where Donnie Law’s warm guitar and Skylar Adler’s fluid drumming suit Gennone’s heartfelt singing. “The Long Game” then follows with a distinct dreaminess that welcomes Tom Barrett’s thumping drums and John Dewitt’s precise bass playing for the alt-rock meets folk-rock presence.
Pedal steel is used strategically on the listen, as Ryley Crowe’s aching skills populate the flowing melodies of “It’s Not Personal,” while James Abbott’s lap steel complements Dewitt’s bass prowess across the intimate and lush album highlight, “Mind And Body.”
The back half of the listen offers the cinematic, almost spiritual songwriting of “After The War,” where Adler’s firm drums and Gennone’s dense bass make for a thicker formula. Nearing the end, the bare “The Hills Of Pennsylvania” is a more soulful venture that makes great use of soothing backing vocals and Gennone’s falsetto and cautious piano playing.
The last two tracks are quite diverse, where “Memory Ave” places Kyle Wilkerson on vocals and Chris Fox on guitar amid the slight twang of cosmic Americana, and “Concessions” exits with Ross Burlingame’s mature piano unfolding alongside the poetic storytelling.
Gennone had been absorbing a lot of Brian Eno when penning this album, and it certainly shows in the ambient textures and strong attention to mood, and the similarities to My Morning Jacket and The War On Drugs are appreciated, too. There are no lack of hooks or beauty to be admired, either, and the unclassifiable nature of the songcraft certainly adds even more allure.
