Kasey Anderson: Nowhere Nights (Red River Records, 2010)
Kasey Anderson is a singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon and his new album Nowhere Nights is pretty marvellous. I assume that Kasey was probably sitting on Bob Dylan’s imaginary couch when Steve Earle was standing on Bob Dylan’s imaginary coffee table stating that Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world. Especially it seems that the name Steve Earle has to be mentioned on every review. Well now I got that under way and I can focus on the songs. Kasey Anderson is a great songwriter and a damn fine storyteller. The songs range from hard-edged and country-tinged rockers to heartbreaking and/or thoughtprovoking ballads. I might have added one tough rocker to the latter half of the album, because the only minor problem I have with this great album is that the listening experience starts to get a little heavy towards the end if I’m not in the right mood. However, the quality never drops when the balladry kicks in and therefore this is just a case of personal preference. I’m just loving those damn brilliant rockers like All Lit Up and Nowhere Nights more than the slower material.
