Kip Boardman – I Must Be…

With his airy, winsome voice, Kip Boardman recalls Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris, and his twang-glazed pop songs, including the anti-suicide-themed title track and the self-deprecating “Socks Have Holes”, suggest what the Jayhawks might sound like if Louris had been a piano man. But the Los Angeles musician’s impressive second album holds more than just gentle Jayhawks-style numbers. The noisy guitar rocker “Good Place To Hide” is a tune Matthew Sweet should grab onto. “Losing Streak”, with its silky-smooth soulfulness, sounds like a lost ’70s AM gem. On an actual old radio gem, “Dirty Work”, Boardman strips away the Steely Dan sheen for a countrified rendition that sounds more heartfelt than the original. Two ace L.A. players — drummer Don Heffington and guitarist Tony Gilkyson (who co-produced) — serve as Boardman’s principal backing band, and Van Dyke Parks contributes a cosmic carnival arrangement to the love ode “Spin Me Around”.