Gossip in the Grain

With his road band in tow (bassist Jennifer Condos and guitarist Eric Heywood) and naturalist producer Ethan Johns again manning the recording console, Maine singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne’s third studio album, recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio, is another solid collection of reflective, breathy ballads and sweet solemn words from a man who doesn’t allow the technological rush of modern life to interfere with the old world blue-eyed soul of his songs. “Winter Birds”, “Sarah”, and the title track flow with carefully finger-picked nuance and reflections of an early ‘70s vibe that place LaMontagne comfortably next to James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, Harry Nilsson, and Jesse Winchester. Even when he steps up the beat for the tribute to White Stripes drummer “Meg White” or the lurching ramble of “Hey Me, Hey Mamma”, La Montagne still sounds grounded in the sitting room. It’s music that sounds rustic by design, recorded in an intimate room with the occasional organ or pedal steel adding color — and Leona Ness supplying her angelic vocals to two tracks — but always centering on the human pulse, a soothing, lulling backbeat that’s calm and reassuring while the spirit wrestles with its passions.