The Shining Example Is Lying On The Floor

The most pleasant surprise of the year. Never have I been so captivated with a CD-R. Sidney Lindner's The Hotel Alexis project falls into the late-night, pedal-steel Americana genre, not too far from his other band Torrez. He's never written songs quite like this, though. His country-tinged voice is wonderfully recorded high in the mix, weathered but optimistic, a house of cards that refuses to fall. These songs aren't about what went wrong; they're about what might be put right again. A subtle yet uplifting record that any label should feel privileged to release. - DUSTED