On this self-titled release, Twin Cities singer/songwriter Dan Israel moves ahead without his band, The Cultivators, and turns in a true solo record. Performing all the instruments himself, Israel crafts an "intentionally raw, ramshackle, and rollicking" collection of material. The ragged folk-rock and gritty lo-fi R&R that fills this record suits him quite well. Or suits the songs, rather, as he is no slouch for penning ire-filed rockers, Dylanesque ballads, or even bare jangle-pop sing-a-longs. At times he sounds like a roots-rocker he can`t decide between The Stones or Randy Newman. It took seven releases of working backwards to find the bare nerve at the heart of his songwriting, and as this one plays out, in its own non-flashy, coarse way, it starts to flirt with your nerves in curiously moving way. (Eclectone)
