Still Your Man

iTunes Review

Recorded with his band, the WPA Ballclub, at his new studio built in an abandoned garage near Nashville’s Music Row, Paul Burch’s 2009 release, Still Your Man, mixes an old-world romance and sound with a modern man’s sense of being. The accordion sweeps, the acoustic guitars tick, the rhythms sway with the passing of another moonlit night, while Burch stirs up the memories or settles into the comforts of a well-earned cliché. “Ballad of Henry & Jimmy” sharpens his singer-songwriter pen, but is no less effective in delivering the mood than “Lead Me On,” “Please Send for Me,” or “Fallin’,” where one isn’t even sure what decade we’re experiencing. Burch captures a timeless Americana by committing to no one. He’ll kick it up for “Paul Burch’s Rattlesnake Daddy Blues” or settle down for “Down to the Blackmarket.” Either way, dress up or dress down, with producers Dennis Crouch and the Jayhawks’ Jen Gunderman, Burch comes prepared to blend right in or to stick out — whatever is required.