Album: Dylan LeBlanc, cast the Same Old Shadow (Rough Trade)

A suite of songs (ie, the mood is consistent throughout) of love and loss that aims for the austere mood of Gene Clark's No Other and falls short only because it reaches so high.

This is desolate, guilt-ridden country-soul and, like LeBlanc's 2010 debut Paupers Field, it shows a musical maturity way beyond its creator's years. Still just 22 years old, it's frightening to think what LeBlanc will do with his talent when it fully matures.