A deep sense of wanderlust imbues the self-titled debut by indie folk singer/songwriter
Austin Plaine. A native of Minneapolis, the young bard takes cues from veteran Midwestern ramblers like
Conor Oberst and Minnesota's favorite son,
Bob Dylan, framing them within a modern folk-pop framework. A sojourn to Nashville in 2013 connected him with WeVolve Music, an artist development firm, among other things, and they helped usher his early efforts into what would eventually become this 11-song LP. Wide-eyed and earnest,
Plaine uses the musical and emotional palette of the
Mumford generation to tell his tales of the vagabond life and the roads taken to achieve it. Soaring harmonic choruses are hoisted atop boot-stomping strummers that feature banjo, mandolin, and piano churning together in exultant rhythms. Overall, it's a pleasant and hopeful sound, if a familiar one. Driving tales of love and inspiration like "Wait" and "Beautiful" sit alongside songs like "Hard Days" and "Houston," which speak of a sort of downtrodden Americana grit. Like many on the pop end of the early-2010s indie folk movement,
Plaine uses folk as a starting point, but his acoustic toolbox is frosted with a smattering of digital effects and the type of robust sonic grandeur that will help him get played on the radio. Prior to the album's release, his big-hearted mandolin anthem "Your Love," actually received a choice placement in a MasterCard commercial, marking his music's wide appeal. ~ Timothy Monger