Sons of famous fathers invariably have the odds stacked against them. Nick Harper seems to have inherited all that’s good from his dad:exemplary guitar playing, a heart-tugging vocal style and the ability to write emotive songs. There are wonderfully absorbing, effortless compositions like “Lily’s Song”, “Imaginary Friend” and “Blood Song”, addressing bold, universal themes of family, love, life and death. Elsewhere, a capacity for excess also seems to have been handed down, as well as a tendency to show off, to display a vocal dexterity for the hell of it, and a Zappa-like instrumental cleverness that stems the flow of the material. Undeniably compelling?just not seductive enough throughout.
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