![\"peter_case_hwy62\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/peter_case_hwy62.jpg\")
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Peter Case<\/b> first came to notoriety as one third of The Nerves<\/b>, a critically acclaimed power pop trio that didn’t hang around long enough to capitalize on the genre’s brief commercial heyday. His next group, The Plimsouls<\/b>, was far more successful: their classic \u201cA Million Miles away\u201d was prominently featured in the 1983 film Valley Girl<\/i>. But the lyrics of Case’s story songs have long had a literary heft that is often better conveyed though a more acoustic-oriented arrangement; while rock’s soaring power chords could give an anthemic quality to songs like The Plimsouls’ \u201cOldest Story in the World,\u201d electric guitars aren’t the subtlest tools for song delivery.<\/p>\n
Perhaps realizing that, Case made a decision to direct his solo career in a more musically understated direction; it’s one that has served him well on more than a dozen solo albums since the mid 1980s.<\/p>\n
Case’s latest, HWY 62<\/i>, continues in that vein. He spins out his musical tales using his well-worn sandpapery voice, accompanied more often than not by brushed drums (X<\/b>‘s D.J. Bonebrake<\/b>), acoustic guitars, and subtle bass work. When Ben Harper<\/b>‘s electric guitar is used, it serves more as a textural element, often sounding like sawing cellos.<\/p>\n
The sturdy songs \u2013 like the evocative, windswept \u201cNew Mexico\u201d \u2013 are textbook examples of strong lyrics set to understated (but solid) musical backing. Case’s twelve-string acoustic lends the arrangements a bigger sound than they’d otherwise have. But it’s worth noting that nearly all of the disc’s eleven tracks would have worked well in full-rocking mode. The shouted \u201cone-two-three-four\u201d of \u201cAll Dressed Up (For Trial)\u201d is something of a red herring; the tune feels like an unplugged arrangement of a soaring, fist-pumping rock tune.<\/p>\n