Tex Crick has a uncommon potential to sound wistful with none sense of ache or longing. On Candy Dreamin’, the Australian songwriter’s second LP for Mac DeMarco’s report label, his languid vocals tackle a extra outstanding function as he croons over pop-piano melodies and buzzing analog synths traces that meet him like a heat embrace. Even along with his newfound bravado, he’s by no means trying to steal the highlight along with his voice or his perspective. That is peak park-hang music, genial and achieved with out making an attempt to get difficult.

Having performed with Kirin J Callinan, Connan Mockasin, Weyes Blood, and Iggy Pop, Crick isn’t any stranger to the ensemble strategy. On Candy Dreamin’, nevertheless, he recorded almost each instrument by himself at his house base in Tokyo. (His sole collaborator is Miles Myjavec, who recorded the drum components remotely from Australia.) Whilst his personal backing band, Crick conjures up a unfastened, lingering jam-session sound that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Songs are largely beneath 4 minutes, and the fleeting moments of indulgence, just like the ragtime interlude “Alley Cat” and contemplative “Drifting Off Once more,” solely add to the album’s informal ambiance.

Crick’s vocal supply, hushed but emotive, resembles the showmanship of Boz Scaggs at a extra intimate scale. He’ll have enjoyable throughout the mumbled scats on “Mulberry Wine,” rhyming “take it to go” with “Picasso,” however each declaration of affection sounds easy, with nary a vocal pressure. “I’ll be ready for ya/You deliver my desires to life,” he sings to a faraway sweetheart on “All I’m Dreaming Of.” Even when his narratives suggest star-crossed romance, Crick sounds extra like he’s wanting ahead to a pleasant trip. His sentiments aren’t particularly unique, however he imbues them with sufficient appeal to make the optimism plausible.

Although Crick’s piano is on the middle of many of the album’s preparations, probably the most fascinating prospers come from different devices. It’s a small pleasure to listen to the spurts of cowbell blended into opener “Straightforward Keepers,” adopted by the slinky bassline and rollicking synths of “Foolish Little Issues.” The richest tapestry materializes on “Barefoot Blues,” the closest Candy Dreamin’ will get to a climax. Over a guitar lick impressed by Hawaiian lap metal music, Crick remembers a vivid affair that culminated in a serenade at a tiki bar. Appropriately, probably the most realized, romantic scene on the album is a reminiscence of a stay efficiency: “Oh, what a stupendous sound/It was heaven with two ft.”

“Barefoot Blues” additionally stands out for its sense of place. Absent from Candy Dreamin’ are the ambient city sounds that added a contact of realism to Crick’s earlier album, 2021’s Dwell in…New York Metropolis. Whereas the music does evoke a comfy house studio—you’ll be able to virtually really feel the carpet beneath your ft—the extra nameless setting could make the album really feel a bit of shapeless. This gained’t essentially be a detriment: Irrespective of the place you might be on this planet, Candy Dreamin’ sounds completely content material to be a tasteful, unassuming date-night backdrop.

Tex Crick: Candy Dreamin’