One of the good things that’s come out of the pandemic is that quite a few musicians, normally consumed full-time with being part of a band, have used the time to challenge themselves and make a solo record. Sometimes the musical style veers afield from what their band normally plays. One of the better examples of that found me via a message out of the blue from Jim Lough, normally of Boston-based bluegrass band Riley Coyote. Performing under the nom de plume of Old Town Crier, multi-instrumentalist Lough set aside his twangy roots and set out to explore his early rock and roll influences in an EP entitled I’m Longing For You Honey In Middleboro, Mass. (There’s a story about that title involving an antique postcard and home towns, but I’ll leave that for another day.)
I Might Get Lost is a mostly folk rock number, but with doo-wop background vocals that make you smile. Easy starts with a little mandolin, but then gains a bit of bluesy-ness with harmonica and a little slide. Don’t Go could have been an early Beatles song with a full-on power pop sound distracting you away from the lyrical pleading “you’re all I know, please don’t go”. That theme of love lost carries through much of the record, but Lough keeps the instrumentals more upbeat. The result is an EP you can listen to on multiple levels.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.