Bobbo Byrnes (from the album Bobbo Byrnes

Bobbo Byrnes (from the album Bobbo Byrnes

Bobbo Byrnes (from the album Bobbo Byrnes on Highway Five Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Bobbo Byrnes can claim a storied history. Following a move from Boston to Southern California, Bobbo founded one of Orange County’s leading Americana Roots Rock bands, The Fallen Stars. Nowadays, he operates on his own, but his songs and stories still manage to resonate with an effusive energy that shares a potent mix within each of his outings.

His new self-titled album is no different. With a set of songs that range from relentless Rockers (“Around Here”, “I Cannot Say”, “Bad Decisions”, “Some Salvation”) to reflective, well-considered, contemplative ballads (“Too Many Miles”, “Long Way Down”, “Chance”, “Plain Street”), Bobbo Byrnes expresses his innermost emotions while tying those thoughts and feelings to the sentiments expressed in song. The overall theme centers on the power of healing and redemption, using music as a means to express what it takes to retain one’s resolve in the face of both triumph and tribulation.
 
‘I can’t see, what’s in front of me’ he sings on the track titled “Never Learned to Fly”. ‘So many times, I have tried…’ 

That confessional tone permeates the proceedings in their entirely, and on the album’s sole cover, a lovely take on the Faces/Ronnie Lane ballad “Glad and Sorry” that walks with fearless reality until coming to full fruition. It’s a song well-suited to sobering circumstances, but it also adds an unlikely sense of celebration that’s tied to the drive and deliberation conveyed throughout the album overall. Notably, Byrnes plays all the instruments other than bass and drums (specifically, guitars, mandolin, piano, organ, pedal steel), and also takes credits for the songwriting, recording, production, and the majority of the mixing. The results are expressive, emphatic and, as always, robust and resilient.
 
Ultimately, one can credit Bobbo Byrnes with nothing less than a tour-de-force, music that resonates long after the final notes fade away. ‘I’m not lost, I’m just looking/For the last placed I felt like me’ he sings on the brief closing track “Not Lost”. An exceptional album by a singular artist, Bobbo Byrne is a true treasure. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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