CASS MCCOMBS - Dropping The Writ

McCombs has all of the gifts to be a major indie star: an effortless way with melody, a lack of shyness with hooks, and a soaring, rich voice. The only thing barring his ascendency--and you get the sense he likes it this way--are the left-of-centre ticks that he nestles into his tunes. Slightly off-kilter lyrics, stabs of basement production, and somtimes over-reaching vocals constantly keep these otherwise immediate pop songs straining to keep their balance. It's a great reminder that a love of pop tunes and an ear for abstraction need not be mutually exclusive things; often, they're what keep each other honest.