ARI HEST
"THE BREAK-IN"
(Columbia, 2007)
Something weird sometimes happens when an artist, whose debut album I had tried but eventually tired of and traded in, comes out with their sophomore CD: I feel compelled to give said artist a second chance, not just by picking up their new album if it sounds intriguing, but also by re-buying their first. (Yes, you just learned one of my dirty little secrets. But don't worry; I never pay full retail price twice for the same CD -- not that that makes me seem to have any less of a CD-buying sickness.) It took me awhile to appreciate Ari Hest -- three years and a new album, to be exact.
Ari Hest garnered a moderate amount of success with "They're On To Me", the lead single from his mostly radio-friendly first disc, "Someone To Tell". On his new album, he seems to have refined his sound to more of a subdued, coffeehouse-troubadour approach. Consequently, the songs on "The Break-In" aren't especially catchy or instantly memorable. Instead, he lets the cozy, no-frills instrumentation and lyrics speak for themselves, by way of his rich, hearty voice, that seems to wrap itself around you like a wool blanket. This CD would be the ideal soundtrack for a mellow, unhurried drive down the highway on a late afternoon, with the most upbeat track ("Right Of Way") perfectly positioned halfway through the album, as if to give the driver a refreshing second wind.
The only thing I can chalk up this "second album/second chance" phenomenon to (it also recently happened with Teddy Thompson -- more on him later, since his third album is on the horizon), aside from the fair number of artists whose sophomore albums I find superior to their debuts, is my slowly evolving musical taste. I seem to be getting a little more into the singer-songwriter genre, as my thankful re-discovery of Ari Hest proves.
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