A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea (Echo Mountain)

Beneath North Carolinian Tyler Ramsey's genial, front-porch picker facade hides a busker earnestly dividing his time between his solo act and his gig as Band Of Horses' guitarist. Undulating between the two might seem a breeze but Band Of Horses' palate contains only black and white. Ramsey's own songs, however, are vibrant like a big box of crayons—the ones with wisteria and cerulean standing alongside red and green. "Long Dream" begins with a strong hint of Neil Young circa Comes A Time but soon it hikes out for Leo Kottke territory, ambling down a woodsy path. Ramsey's sense of the beautiful extends to knowing when he's sung just enough to hook you into the romantic tale of trouble and then the voice is gone but that bright, bright guitar can't and won't stay quiet. How sweet. -paperthinwalls.com