In the early90s, folk music underwent a life-saving rehabilitation and some people made the wise decision to dust down the genre. In this spirit, the Grant Lee Buffalo trio won big with their 1993 hit single Fuzzy. A beautifully refined ballad carried by Grant-Lee Phillips’s falsetto. In 1999, the songwriter launched a solo career to mix classic folk rock influences inherited from Dylan, Springsteen and Neil Young. With Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff, the Californian from Nashville releases a tenth album with the same philosophy. With drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Jennifer Condos, Eric Heywood on pedal steel and Danny T. Levin on euphonium, trombone and cornet, he concocts elegant americana to highlight his simple songs that zoom in, sometimes with a sense of humour, on the instabilities of the world. The years have lightly chiselled away at his beautiful voice yet improved his innate sense of melody. In short, roots music aficionados should take another look at this touching, refined craftsman. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz