Hirsute Midwest singer/songwriter
William Fitzsimmons
has a knack for crafting incredibly measured (almost hypnotically so), deeply personal, largely finger-picked folk confections that flirt with AOR pop without losing any of their artisan luster. Produced by
Death Cab for Cutie
's
Chris Walla
(
Tegan and Sara
,
the Decemberists
),
Lions
dispenses with some of the electronic flourishes that crept into 2011's
Gold in the Shadow
.
Walla
's tape loops and synths reside largely in the shadows, allowing
Fitzsimmons
' easy voice, which falls somewhere between the breathy earnestness of
Sufjan Stevens
and the steady, deep water thrum of
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Glen Phillips
, ample stage room with which to strut and fret its hour. ~ James Christopher Monger