[rating=8.00]
Karma for Cheap is Aaron Lee Tasjan’s sophomore release for New West following 2016’s acclaimed Silver Tears. While that one had just enough twang to barely qualify it as an Americana album, this one jingles and jangles fully with power pop. It’s just his third solo effort, but he has widely varied experience as a sideman, playing guitar in the modern day New York Dolls, the inventive Semi Precious Weapons, the Neil Young-signed Everest, British roots rock band Alberta Cross, Southern rock band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, or even as front man of the rockers Madison Square Gardeners. Clearly, this informs his mix of psychedelic-pop and rock ‘n’ roll. Some have described his range as extending from Brian Wilson to Todd Snider with hints of Tom Petty (Traveling Wiburys version).
Even the opening riffs to “If Not Now When” evoke the Beatles psychedelic period. That’s not by accident either. You could even read into the title a reference to John Lennon’s Instant Karma. As the album unfolds more British pop influences emerge as do the vocal harmonies that hearken back to previous eras too. Throw in a dash of Bowie for glam rock and it’s a mashup of vintage sounds with his own psychedelic twist. “the sound of the new record is a little more rough and ready, more raw than anything I’ve done before,” says Tasjan, continuing, “…There are a lot of people out there carrying the burden of this weird, twisted world we ‘re living in at the moment on their shoulders. So I tried to write a record that offers some comfort, encouragement and hope to those people, as much as it’s possible to be hopeful right now.”
These ten songs are all originals and the album is co-produced by Tasjan, Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow), and Gregory Lattimer (Albert Hammond Jr.). It features Tasjan’s road band – guitarist Brian Wright, bassist Tommy Scifres, and drummer Seth Earnest. Sheryl Crow is aboard for background vocals. Tasjan considers himself an experimentalist and prides himself on not being obvious. He does get to the heart of rather disguise theme immediately in “If Not Now When” with this verse – “All of your friends are asleep/And you can’t buy karma for cheap/And the cards say, ‘Read em’ and weep’.” Optimism, Tasjan style comes in verses like this from “The Truth Is So hard to Believe” – “It’s all in your head/There’s no race to be won/The world that you’re in /Is a beautiful one/With the sun in your eyes/Through the golden haze/You’re doing alright in so many ways.” The shiny, gleaming music is as uplifting as the lyrics.
Amidst the mostly up-tempo, bubbly tunes is the crooning ballad “Dream Dreamer,” seemingly inspired by Roy Orbison as Tasjan sings in the high register. This is not to say he loses any momentum in the second half of the album: it’s as good, maybe even a tad better than the first half. In Echoes of Neil Diamond appear in “Set You Free” and “Strange Shadows,” “Crawling At Your Feet” and the closer “Songbird” are just terrific melodic, hook-laden pop songs.
This is all perfect radio friendly fare. Pop the disc in your player and you’ll be smiling and perhaps thinking back to less stressful times.
