With the release of his first solo album after six years with the band Midnight North (feat. Grahame Lesh), Alex Jordan offers strong evidence towards solidifying his own musical personality. The Subtle Exhibitionist may not always sound wholly original, but the music usually transcends easy comparisons because its multi-instrumentalist/composer creator is more urbane than he is transparent.
That’s especially heartening in light of the very first track as it morphs from a mere re-write of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and progresses through some healthy improv. With the savvy guidance of co-producer David Simon-Baker, Alex Jordan resists succumbing to an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach to arrangements, so the assistance from Mother Hips’ Tim Bluhm for the addition of Mellotron on “Smile At Me” and “It’s Cool” are welcome exceptions to an otherwise spartan rule. As is the restrained use of Kate Sablinky’s French horns on the latter as well as ”To Be Whole.”
Jordan’s formal music schooling no doubt figures in the decorative approach at the heart of this record and it’s perhaps most evident in the country-styled pedal steel ornamentation from Dave Ziebel on “I Know I’ll Be OK.” A bit too reminiscent of the Flying Burrito Brothers perhaps—compare it to “My Uncle” from that band’s debut The Gilded Palace of Sin–the tune nevertheless demonstrates how a young musician can be well-served in drawing on such stalwart influences as Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman and company. And the very next track, “Golden Land” finds Jordan distinguishing himself with a palpable measure of soul through the rise and fall from the Hammond organ he plays.
The glossy sheen of this digi-pak cover, enclosing a fold-out with complete lyrics and credits, clearly mirrors the meticulous care that went into this album’s creation. But more important than such cosmetics is the relish with which this precocious artist imbues his performances; there’s gleeful enthusiasm permeating the high vocal harmonies on “To Be Whole” and he also wields sharp guitars with more than a little panache on “California In My Eyes;” that fretboard work is in addition to the lap steel of this LP’s unsung hero Ziebel, calling to mind thoughts Alex might recruit an equally resourceful individual as a songwriting partner.
Such visceral moments effectively balance the wry intellect within this record’s title. And Jordan’s solo guitar instrumental near the home stretch of The Subtle Exhibitionist, “Makuahine,” is an even defter a gesture of all-around versatility, an impression he further reaffirms with the ostensible title song; wisely sequenced at the very end of these ten cuts, it not only echoes the rambunctious nature of the opening cut–not to mention the late great Warren Zevon’s “Mr. Bad Example”—but also illustrates how far a music lover travels in hearing this LP from start to finish.
