glass fool

****1/2

 

The debut album from roots singer-songwriter Kaurna Cronin announces itself with the sharp shuffle of, ‘Inside Your Town Is Inside Your Head,’ a flawless pop confection that bounces along with an airy harmony and trumpet-bolstered chorus. This album sounds like an appropriate soundtrack to a unicorn ride down a rainbow into a land of magical wonder where sadness is only acknowledged in passing if at all, and really, who can be sad when you’re bouncing along to irresistibly candy-coated melodies like, ‘The Kind of Woman I Need,’ or ooo-ooo’ing along to the happy-go-lucky strains of, ‘Still I Fall’?  It’s just not possible.

With each successive listen, another layer of jaded ennui is reluctantly shed.  I’m in Kaurna Cronin’s world now, and it’s better here.  I’m safe in the company of his kindly reassuring voice, while acoustic guitars strum, drums tap away and bluesy electric guitar tastefully punctuates each melody or verse. I kid, of course, but this is a superlatively happy-sounding album, totally infectious in its enthusiasm for relaxed pop melodies.  Other highlights include the harmonica-infused, ‘Everybody’s Still Somebody’s Fool,’ and the utterly gorgeous, ‘Blind,’ with its ghosted chorus downbeat and joyful trumpet and vocal melody.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, of course. Clouds intervene for the casual strum of, ‘Lay Your Letters Down,’ the fingerpicked folk ballad, ‘Thought of a Child,’ and the somber closer, ‘Learning to Quit,’ but the essential formula of irresistible melodies delivered in Cronin’s thoughtful croon remains.

Glass Fool is pure escapism, with pristine production and sharp performances that groove and blend seamlessly.  Occasionally a melody loops a time too many or a song might want for a bridge, but it’s hard to begrudge a ten-song album with at least seven perfect songs.  If you’re into genuine pop ear candy, this one’s a keeper.

Also printed in Bside Magazine 25 June 2015

Bside