Johnathan Rice came to fame on the arm of Jenny Lewis, standing alongside her as she eased away from Rilo Kiley in 2006 and staying in the picture until 2015, functioning as both romantic partner and sometime collaborator. Their relationship ended in 2015, and 2019's The Long Game -- not only the first album Rice has recorded since their split, but his first since 2013's Good Graces -- is a classic breakup album, chronicling the wreckage and resolve that follows a severed allowance. Producer Tony Berg encouraged Rice to record most of the album himself -- famous friends Courtney Marie Andrews and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes do make cameos, but they're essentially accents on a record that spends a lot of time wallowing in the melancholy blue of twilight. The Long Game moves at such a deliberate pace that it's hard not to embrace the moments where the tempo changes -- either by quickening, as it does on "Below the Deck," or easing into the waltz of "Change" -- but the hushed dynamics and slow processionals are part and parcel with breakup albums; the stillness conveys seriousness. Even if the tenor of the album sometimes seems a little too somber, the heavy feelings help focus Rice, trimming away his tendency to overwrite. Directness suits him, making his melodies seem tender and his words empathetic -- a hard-won victory, perhaps, but a victory all the same. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

1		The Long Game (feat. Courtney Marie Andrews)
2		Silver Song
3		Hollow Jubilee
4		Meet the Mother
5		Naked in the Lake
6		Below the Deck
7		Another Cold One
8		Change
9		Millions of Miles (feat. Courtney Marie Andrews)
10		Friends

	Like us on Facebook
	@SoundHound	Follow