Glitter In the Gutter

iTunes Review

Ex D Generation frontman Jesse Malin has gone from Johnny Thunders wannabe to Bruce Springsteen acolyte as his third solo album further mines heartland alt-country rock that sounds like a crossbreeding of Graham Parker, John Cougar Mellencamp and Paul Westerberg (whose Replacements track “Bastards of Young” gets a slowed-to-a-crawl rendition). Malin packs his album like the Love Boat with a star-studded cameo guest package featuring Springsteen, Jakob Dylan, Ryan Adams and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme. Despite the celebrity sideshow, the album boils down to Malin’s well-studied heartland-street-walkin’ tunes that cover familiar ground. “Don’t Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day!),” “Broken Radio” and “Lucinda” would all slot comfortably onto a Steve Earle album without a pause. Here, it’s Malin’s gravelly whine seducing the hard-luck stories and celebrating the day with a shaded optimism made even more palatable by its Pete Yorn-influenced pop hooks. Much like the power pop aficionados who reassemble the spare parts of the Beatles-Beach Boys-Byrds-Big Star catalog in search of their own sound, Malin picks through the bodies and minds of the best street troubadours to find his own shot at amazing grace.