Given his laconic delivery backed by twangy guitars and standup bass, you’d think that Hendrickson has spent his time hanging out with the likes of Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen. But no, he hails from Chicago and perhaps it is midwestern ethos combined a red dirt musical style with a pinch of John Prine that makes this disk so dang great. In it he uses his very dry wit to comment on the alienation of modern life but accompanies it with the hope for the future that comes from being a new parent.

RIYL: Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, California Honeydrops
Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7bAdgpDrdA&list=PLsXak6MZRKiUvPgw5q_okEJQh5DdLb_Mz

1 Do It For Love – nice trumpet & piano work on this rag-timey toe tapper (med,3:25)**
2 One Day Of Life – lovely mariachi finger picked guitar (slow, 2:50)**
3 Got A Light – joyful ode to his young child with enchanting slide (slow, 2:47)***
4 Standing Like A Rock – band nails it on this uptempo swamp rocker (fast, 3:35)***
5 Something In The Water – laconic commentary on mass shooters with sad, twangy Tex-Mex style slide guitar (med, 3:35)***
6 One More Pull – lovely reminiscence about old friends with a lazy Lyle Lovett like delivery (med, 3:40)**
7 The Losing Blues – rollicking tale of a millennial looking for a brighter future (fast, 3:30)***
8 Should Have Left This Town Behind – bouncy rocker about leaving a rust belt town in order to find the American dream (fast, 3:29 )**
9 All The Crooked Miles – sweet love song (slow, 4:16)
10 Dystopian Dreams – divine syncopation & trumpets on this contemplation about hope in the face of despair (med, 4:10)***
11 New Midwestern Winter Blues – great finger picked guitar on this acoustic blues tune that will send the chill of the “Hawk” blowing off of Lake Michigan down your spine (slow, 3:50)***
12 That Feeling – haunting country/folk rocker with great slide work (med, 4:16)
13 My Friend, Roll On – sweet folk tale about helping out a hobo hitchhiker (slow, 3:40)*