Loomer

iTunes Review

The album cover may be somewhat misleading with its photograph of a blonde woman; tunesmith Korey Dane is a man with a lightly husky voice that resonates with a striking similarity to fellow Los Angelino (by way of Scotland) Johnathan Rice. As with much of Rice’s recordings, Dane’s sophomore album, Loomer, abounds in rootsy tones and male-female close harmonies (here courtesy of Tess Shapiro, a stellar songwriter in her own right). The opening “Mother Father” is a spare, acoustic guitar–based tune that dynamically adds drums, piano, strings, and lap steel while Dane and Shapiro switch between tightly braided harmonics and simple but effective octave parts. The standout track “Goldminer” plays with the gripping emotional restraint of a Townes Van Zandt song, with plenty of room for Dane and Shapiro’s inflections to stretch out and soar over some of the album’s most impressive guitar work. Without vocal accompaniment, “Rattlesnake Love” reveals that Dane sings just fine on his own—especially in those moments that really let you hone in on his voice's subtly gritty textures.