Recorded in Arizona with
Calexico's
Joey Burns producing,
Amos Lee's fourth studio album, 2011's
Mission Bell, finds the singer/songwriter in a thoughtful mood and once again wrapping his soulful folk numbers in country, blues, and soft rock. A ruminative, lazy summer day of an album,
Mission Bell is not dissimilar to
Lee's last effort, 2008's
Last Days at the Lodge, but lacks the more contemporary R&B tracks that made
Last Days a bit of a departure from
Lee's more granola leanings. Here listeners get the introspective leadoff track "El Camino" and the airy
Steve Winwood-sounding ballad "Violin." Similarly engaging is the jaunty mid-album anthem "Flower," which is equal parts
the Commodores' "Easy" and
Hall & Oates' "She's Gone."
Lee is a talented songwriter with a distinctive pop voice who is becoming recognized as an heir to the American singer/songwriter throne -- a notion given weight by the addition of several well-known guest artists here, including roots rocker
Lucinda Williams and country legend
Willie Nelson. ~ Matt Collar