If you’re using the United States in your band name, you better have reach. Good thing Jesse Elliott and his merry crew of 21st-century folk rockers have plenty. In the last 18 months, they’ve released three albums, including Everything Touches Everything, out now. It’s a dose of optimistic sonics straight from the heart of the body politic. I reviewed it for Metromix:
These United States, Everything Touches Everything
Recorded in D.C. during the inauguration of the Obama administration, “Everything Touches Everything” is an optimistic love letter. “Conquest & Consequence” makes for a bouncy history lesson set to crunchy guitar and topped by Elliott’s smooth croon, while “I Want You to Keep Everything” serves as a rollicking paean to starting over fresh. The poignant steel guitar on “The Secret Door” could have jumped off of Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” and, matched with the skittish snare on moving closer “Good Night Wish,” places the hopeful patriotism of “Everything Touches Everything” atop American-minded music of any era. Yes he can.
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