Due North is the solo debut of musician Liam Kazar, though he's far from a novice in the industry, a fact evident in its list of contributors. A onetime member of hip-hop collective Kids These Days and indie rock spinoff Marrow, his one full-length release with the former group (2012's Traphouse Rock) was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Kazar -- aka Liam Cunningham -- went on to join the touring band for Tweedy, Jeff's duo with his son Spencer. Spencer plays drums here alongside bassist Lane Beckstrom (Kids These Days), famed pedal steel guitarist James Elkington, and backing vocalists Ohmme, among other guests. (Elkington also co-produced the album, and Ohmme's Sima Cunningham is Kazar's sister.) The record was mixed and sequenced by like-minded singer/songwriter/stylist Sam Evian. With its pedigree in mind, Due North has the demeanor of a playful album rock-pop crossover act with a career well underway in the late 1970s à la artists like Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, and Robert Palmer, though Al Green's The Belle Album was cited as a spiritual influence. Kazar's lyrics are anxious and insecure, even on whimsical tracks like the ultra-funky, highly processed "Old Enough for You." It's sci-fi laser-like effects, filtered lead and soulful backing vocals, and closing sax solo (by Evian) may be cerebrally tempered by lyrics like "Don't pass me by/I couldn't stand to cry/Anymore/Every time you're out the door," but they can't mitigate the groove. Standout track "Shoes Too Tight" also stars a hapless lead but nonetheless evokes earbud-clad sidewalk strutters. Melancholier songs, such as the spacy "Give My World" and "On a Spanish Dune" -- both of which weave echoing vintage keys, synths, guitar, and pedal steel to varying degrees -- better reflect Kazar's sentiments, but there's an irrepressible energy and idealism in play that serves as the album's inviting through line. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

1		So Long Tomorrow
2		Old Enough For You
3		Shoes Too Tight
4		Nothing To You
5		On a Spanish Dune
6		Frank Bacon
7		I've Been Where You Are
8		No Time For Eternity (feat. Andrew Sa)
9		Give My World
10		Something Tender

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