Highly accomplished album for fans of Wilco and the like.
You have to hand it to Chris “CR” Gennone when it comes to naming his bands; consistency is at the fore. He loves the moniker CR so much so that he’s recorded five albums as CR and the Degenerates, then with a few lineup changes, it was CR and the Nones in 2019, and now we have the third album from CR & the White Lights.
Having listened to their previous release, The Ghosts Are Coming Home, which is a truly magnificent album, the quality of writing and musicianship hasn’t slipped one iota on this new one. This is a really solid collection bringing to mind the best qualities of Neil Young and Wilco, that spotlights Gennone’s wonderfully soulful and effective vocals and some superb driving hooks, demonstrating his musicianship and prowess at writing cracking songs. The album was recorded with friend of the band, Phil Cook, mostly live, in Connor’s The West Studio in New Brunswick, NJ, over the course of a sweltering Fourth of July weekend in 2024, with barely any air conditioning, leading to a raw and instinctive sound that’s perfect for the material.
Opener The Plaza is a case in point: a superb rollicking tune with an instantly catchy core tune, some blistering guitar playing, wonderfully atmospheric piano work and a joyous and almost celebratory feel. Really effective start to the album. Please continues in the same vein with some gorgeous harmonies around a guitar, piano and pedal steel mix that works brilliantly. Recent single Greatest Hits is a celebratory love song, and as Gennone admits, “when your mind is stuck in this feedback loop of anxiety and negativity, love can cure that“. It’s a slower, more contemplative ode to love, but gorgeous for all that.
Yearbook is another catchy guitar-driven tune with another wonderfully memorable tune, and Gannone’s vocals again work really well here, and the band’s backup harmonies are so effective. The song finishes with some blistering guitar work, and it’s an album highlight. Tinted Windows, another recent single, once again opens with some raucous and raw guitar playing, and the raunchy pace doesn’t stop, and it’s a bravura performance from Gennone displaying his adept and powerful guitar work.
Men of Summer has a slightly different feel; epic and edgy, but with a dreamier sound. We close with the nearly seven-minute, powerful Dose of Darkness; ragged and loose in its feel, but with a confident swagger and an electric-guitar field day from Gennone.
The band on this album is really worth noting: James Abbott on guitar, Liam Bornovski on pedal steel, John Dewitt on bass, Rich Slurry on drums, as well as Drew Sheldon on piano, Skylar Adler on drums, and Andrew Merclean on guitar/synths.
The one very minor gripe is that the pedal steel was slightly too forward in the mix; the production sound on their previous album, The Ghosts Are Coming, was perfect on that front, and if this review tempts you, do take a listen to that previous release, it’s an absolute barnstormer and really worth your listening attention.
This is a stellar set of ten songs here demonstrating that Gennone is building into a serious player; this album is sheer class.
