Jacksons Corner is the latest release to land in my lap from Collision Music, and another fine release it is too. The releases may not be to frequent from this label but the quality of the recordings when they do come are first class, and so it is with this album from Steve Morano. Steve has a soulful and engaging voice, full of fragile quivering highs and soft understated lows, he delivers songs largely about love and lost love with the occasional foray into life and the everyday hardships it brings. The sound manages to tread the line somewhere between folk and Americana with a healthy dash of both and recorded to sound like a real band. The songs are beautifully arranged and bring together an array of instruments on top of the standard drums, bass and guitar, but this extra instrumentation has been used where it needs to be used and not plastered thoughtlessly over everything, when it’s required it’s there. if I were pushed to give some reference points for this album I would say Steve Morano has a bit of David Gray mixed with maybe a tinge of Ryan Adams.

The tempo of the album is generally laid back and melancholy with some real downbeat moments to twang at your heartstrings, Steve has obviously had a rock road in search of love. These down moments though are counterpointed at just the right points, with moments of hope and optimism, in the form of a few slightly more upbeat songs sprinkled throughout. For me there are some standout tunes on the album, two of them I had already clocked last year as they were released as singles, ‘Donna’ is a soulful unrequited love song that has a ridiculously catchy bounce to it, whilst the follow-up single ‘Jacksons Corner’ is a real grower, with its laid back slide notes running in at the start to it’s soulful chorus. I believe this song was written in response to news of the imminent closure of the Reading store of the same name.

In addition to the singles for me ‘Working Life’, ‘Tired’ and ‘I think I’m in Trouble’ are each worthy of a release as a single in my humble opinion. Check out three of the tunes below and then go get the album, but don’t blame me if you get stuck humming ‘Donna’ everywhere you go.