There’s more than a few references to dreary winter weather and boxed-in everyday living on Dennis Crommett’s sophomore solo album, lending his songs a somewhat melancholy feel. Crommett — known for his involvement with such assorted units as Winterpills, Spanish for Hitchhiking and City of Domes — radiates a Yankee candor that keeps his introspective lyrics from becoming too precious. The landscapes of the singer/songwriter’s New England home form the backdrops for many of these songs — tunes like “Rocks of Deer Isle” and “All the Great Long Afternoon” have the sharp vividness of an October day on Cape Cod. “New Year’s Resolution” and “Dark Gray Horses” eloquently capture the urge to head for new horizons with poetic language and propulsive music. In “High Cotton,” Crommett connects with a fireside sing-along spirit rooted in old-fashioned hymnody. Long-buried memories and regrets surface in tunes like “Swallow” and “The Ocean Floor.” Dennis Chalfant’s ghostly pedal steel and Brian Akey’s twinkling mandolin add strokes of color to this thoughtful, subtly affecting release.