The Only Bag Worth Packing

A.C. Newman “Do Your Own Time”

Shut Down the Streets didn’t connect with me until I heard it in autumn weather, and then it clicked. I suspect it would click even more if I was up in the Hudson Valley. That’s where Newman resides now, and as a person who grew up there, I can sense the rhythms and resonances of that region in the sound of the record. That’s especially true of “Do Your Own Time,” probably the best track on the album, and a rather atypical composition for him. The vocal melody is in his wheelhouse, but the music falls into a meditative groove that’s far off from his usual power pop rockers and wistful balladry. The flourishes are a bit unexpected too, most especially the guitar solo at the end. It’s odd enough to hear a solo like that on a Newman song, even more surprising for it to have a cool, slick, vaguely jazzy tone.

Buy it from Amazon.