Creede Williams
Something Borrowed
Speake Records/For Everything
Creede Williams’s bio compares the music on Something Borrowed to Ben Folds and Michael Stipe, but the album’s ten hugely impressive songs owe more to Counting Crows and producer Cary Pierce’s former outfit, Jackopierce.
Pierce’s rolodex (Vertical Horizon members and other assorted musical alumni guest on this album) and his skills as a producer certainly help elevate Something Borrowed far above the level of your average debut indie album, but Williams’ songwriting and voice are just as responsible for that. Opener “California” is perhaps the most obvious song to get Williams noticed. The melancholic “Lately (The End)” is another candidate, mixing a Five For Fighting vibe with Williams’s own brand of southern-flavored roots rock to maximum effect.
“How Does It Feel” is a terrific rocker, and contrasts superbly with the beautiful, evocative acoustic track “Shoreline.” The Counting Crows comparison comes to the fore again on “South Of Me,” a reflective tune inspired – like the rest of the songs – by long, cross-country drives.
But the outstanding song of this remarkably consistent record is the closer, the Van Morrison-esque “Fallen.” It’s the perfect way to end Something Borrowed, proving that the album is most definitely for keeps.
Creede Williams: http://www.creedewilliams.com
