Michael Rault's 2018 album
It's a New Day Tonight charted the onetime garage rocker's reinvention as a dreamy balladeer in thrall to the softer side of
Badfinger and the sweet side of 1970s AOR. Made with the help of the Daptone Records crew, who provided some restrained muscle to
Rault's mellow moods, it was a breakthrough that, if they had known to listen, would have made fans of
McCartney and
Nilsson very happy. Fast-forward a few years, and after a few changes that included moving from Montreal to Los Angeles,
Rault has expanded his approach a little on his self-titled 2022 record. Working again with his pals at Daptone, though in California and not Brooklyn,
Rault comes across altogether peppier this time around. Writing songs with snappy hooks, blowing out the arrangements to accommodate swarms of synths, backing vocals, and reverb, and revving up the tempos all the way to mid, the record casts off the dreaminess of
New Day. It's still classic
Nilsson and
Macca with loads of
Emitt Rhodes mixed in -- no worries that
Rault suddenly went hard rock. It's just a bit livelier and fun, with tracks like "When I'm Back in Town" or "Neither Love Nor Money" showing off some saucy strut, not to mention funky clavinets. "Want for Nothing," too, has some bounce in its step and
Rault's falsetto and rippling guitar solos give the song an extra kick. The ballads also have a little something extra mixed in to make them just a bit more interesting. "All Night Long" rocks falsetto harmonies that
Leo Sayer would find hard to hit, synths worthy of
Steve Miller circa 1976, and a low-key funk groove that kicks the album off in style. "Whoever Comes Around" scores by adding a lush string accompaniment that
Barry Manilow might have found excessive, "Right On Time" has a naggingly good bass line, harpsichords, and spooky fuzz guitars lurking deep in the mix, and "Who Will You Call On?" is simply a beautiful song that
Emitt or
Paul would have been proud to claim. Capping off the album on a different course entirely, "Inside Your Heart" is a magical slice of chiming folk-psych that conjures up
CSN&Y filtered through the paisley underground, only with more wide-eyed innocence than anyone in that equation ever managed. It's a wonderful left turn that only makes what came before it seem even more like a good dream, the kind one wakes up from feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world.
Rault has made a leap from someone working out a sound to someone who absolutely owns one, and he has crafted a record that not only sounds good in the time it was released but measures up well against anything made by the people he so clearly loves and admires. ~ Tim Sendra