Shriek of the Week, Vol. 2

I've already been yelled at once for not telling someone about this week's Shriek, so I figured I'd better get him out here early so I can't be blamed for keeping him from anybody else. This week's selection is Ray LaMontagne. His music is sublime, it's soulful and tuneful and just plain absorbing, but so heartbreaking.

He's only released one album, so I've got ten songs to go on. I first heard "Trouble" last fall on WFUV while shuttling between Hoboken and Somerville during election season, and it's one of those songs I just turned up real loud and felt all the way through me. So I bought the album, and I've got those ten songs burned into my head. I think my favorite is "How Come," it's as close to rock as he gets, has a beat that sounds like it should be in a beer commercial, but it's clearly not a feel good tune:

"Love can be a liar
And justice can be a thief
And freedom can be an empty cup from which everybody want to drink
I said how come I can't tell the free world from a living hell, I said how come,
How come all I see is a child of God in misery, I said how come"

LaMontagne writes about the fine line we all walk between success and failure, love and loneliness. It's jaw-droppingly good and I can't wait for album number two. Click here to listen...