The best music has the ability to transport the listener, and such is the case for Andrew Hibbard’s self-titled LP, a collection of ten folk and Americana songs that made the cut from almost 300 songs Hibbard claims to have written.
This is a good record, and it’s difficult to say anything else about it. Every time I would sit down to listen - intentionally listen - to this record, I found my mind drifting, getting lost in the gentleness of Hibbard’s unhurried delivery. I found a record that does what so many greats do - create a space in which the listener can relax and just enjoy a little mellow time where it’s just possible to forget everything else - truly a blessing in times like these.
From the lazy guitar intro to “Changes,” it’s clear what Hibbard has in store. The quietude of “Sweet Song,” with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, harmonica, and Hibbard’s peaceful lyrical delivery, truly showcase his abilities as a songwriter. “Talkin’ Foolin’ Around Blues,” in the oft-overlooked “talkin’ blues” style, is a fun nod to one of the great traditions of folk music.
As with any folk singer/songwriter in this vein, there will be the inevitable comparisons to heavyweights like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and make no mistake, those similarities are pervasive on this album. But where so many others have tried to sound like Dylan and fell short, becoming little more than parodies of the sound they wanted so badly to achieve, Hibbard comes by it honestly, with less of an imitation of the greats he obviously admires and more a natural “taking up of the reins,” picking right up where they left off.
To put it bluntly, it’s good old-fashioned American songcrafting, delivered with an even-tempered ease that is in woeful short supply.
Track List:
Changes
Homewrecker
Sweet Song
Candyland
I’m Coming Over
Talkin’ Foolin’ Around Blues
We Once Did Believe
All Alone
I Wanna Go Back Home
Running From the Enemy
