A literate songwriter with a skateboarder's laid-back attitude and shoot-from-the-hip knack for pop melody, California's Korey Dane often comes off as a folkie who listened to a lot of the Replacements on his engaging third studio album, 2017's Chamber Girls . Where his lauded 2015 effort, Youngblood , found him maturing into a Wilco-esque troubadour, is less precious, more rock-oriented, and rife with a world-weary nonchalance that often comes with going through a bad breakup: something that purportedly informed much of . Joining Dane again is producer Tony Berg ( Edie Brickell , Michael Penn Aimee Mann ), who smartly keeps things simple, framing 's yearning, throaty croon with just the right amount of organ, electric guitar, and the occasional string section. Cuts like the driving opener, "Half Asleep," and the equally compelling, Wurlitzer-heavy "Lovesick in a Hotel Wildfire" are catchy and straightforward, with lyrical hooks that immediately enter your bloodstream. Elsewhere, reveals a weakness for twangy, country-tinged anthems, as on the sparkling, poignant "Heart Out West" and the rambling, Byrds-ian "Jay & the Coyote." He also reveals a growing maturity, digging deep into regret-steeped self-reflection on the measured acoustic ballad "Always." [ was also released in a vinyl LP edition including a poster insert and digital download card.] ~ Matt Collar