Artist: Dan Wilson
Album: Free Life

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Start with the catchy, bouncy number and end with the slow solipsistic and/or romantic ballad that captures the themes and nuances of the record—that"s the standard practice—but former Semisonic lead singer Dan Wilson pulls a pretty smart switch on his new solo record Free Life.

In essence, go broad and end with a defining diminutive moment of self introspection. That would be the easy way out. Wilson avoids facile philosophical musings and pedantic musical cliché, and instead supplants them with emotional intimacy and profound verisimilitude.

The preliminary ersatz send-off is "All Kinds", and he’s talking about visual splendor in case you were wondering. Lest one think he’s being self consciously coy or showcasing moral antiquity, he goes directly to shrouded squalor with “Innocence and consequence / I only hope we never learn” over a smoky drum and acoustic guitar.

The lucidity of his musical approach curtails from an impressive list of influences, ranging from Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis to Sigur Ross and Beck’s under-rated personal ode to tender romantic longing, "Sea Change".

Wilson avoids the mawkish with effortless aplomb, especially when the Nick Drake flutter kicks in as the title track burns with “Who we gonna end up being / How we gonna end up feeling / What you gonna spend your free life on?“

When the tempo swells, Wilson reveals some nifty melodious maneuvers as in "Against History", where the notion of bad experience doesn’t quell hope for a lengthy relationship. He bookends this with the angry "She Can’t Help Me Now", a look into the future history of the potential love of the former, perhaps, yet it never feels as if it’s written.

"Easy Silence", the capper that he co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks and Rick Rubin’s down-to-earth production, avoids the usual pomp, circumstance and cloying arrangement, instead letting Wilson’s easy tranquil tenor shine against the backdrop of his most stunningly direct and insightful rumination of love “And the peaceful quiet you create for me / And the way you keep the world at bay for me.”

With Free Life, Wilson has not only recapitulated, but broadened, his lyrical maturation and musical style with an inward reflection that is both whip smart and catchy.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."