For the most part,
Gorka
offers low-energy
singer/songwriter folk
with shades of
adult contemporary rock
on
The Company You Keep
. Weary nostalgia dominates his introspective, observational lyrics. Whether it's first person or second person, the material muses over lost chances and making the best of things without offering any easy solutions, with a complacent though not self-satisfied attitude. Matters are livened, slightly, by the
Bob Dylan
-like organ of
"Oh Abraham,"
and a variety of female harmony vocalists, including
Mary Chapin Carpenter
and
Ani DiFranco
. When he kicks out the jams, relatively speaking, for the odd up-tempo tune like the bar-band-rollicking
"Joint of No Return,"
or
"Around the House"
(which sounds somewhat like
Tom Rush
does when he decides to rock out), the sudden jolt of octane is downright shocking.
"People My Age"
and the
country
-flavored
"Hank Senior Moment"
flash glimpses of a nasty edge largely absent from the other compositions. ~ Richie Unterberger