Due North is the solo debut of musician
Liam Kazar, though he's far from a novice in the industry, a fact evident in its list of contributors. A onetime member of hip-hop collective
Kids These Days and indie rock spinoff
Marrow, his one full-length release with the former group (2012's
Traphouse Rock) was produced by
Wilco's
Jeff Tweedy.
Kazar -- aka
Liam Cunningham -- went on to join the touring band for
Tweedy,
Jeff's duo with his son
Spencer.
Spencer plays drums here alongside bassist
Lane Beckstrom (
Kids These Days), famed pedal steel guitarist
James Elkington, and backing vocalists
Ohmme, among other guests. (
Elkington also co-produced the album, and
Ohmme's
Sima Cunningham is
Kazar's sister.) The record was mixed and sequenced by like-minded singer/songwriter/stylist
Sam Evian. With its pedigree in mind,
Due North has the demeanor of a playful album rock-pop crossover act with a career well underway in the late 1970s a la artists like
Steely Dan,
Todd Rundgren, and
Robert Palmer, though
Al Green's
The Belle Album was cited as a spiritual influence.
Kazar's lyrics are anxious and insecure, even on whimsical tracks like the ultra-funky, highly processed "Old Enough for You." It's sci-fi laser-like effects, filtered lead and soulful backing vocals, and closing sax solo (by
Evian) may be cerebrally tempered by lyrics like "Don't pass me by/I couldn't stand to cry/Anymore/Every time you're out the door," but they can't mitigate the groove. Standout track "Shoes Too Tight" also stars a hapless lead but nonetheless evokes earbud-clad sidewalk strutters. Melancholier songs, such as the spacy "Give My World" and "On a Spanish Dune" -- both of which weave echoing vintage keys, synths, guitar, and pedal steel to varying degrees -- better reflect
Kazar's sentiments, but there's an irrepressible energy and idealism in play that serves as the album's inviting through line. ~ Marcy Donelson