LOGAN LEDGER
GOLDEN STATE
(Rounder)
4 out of 5 stars
Videos by American Songwriter
It’s unfortunate the much-delayed yet stunning 2020 debut from Nashville-based country crooner Logan Ledger didn’t connect with a larger audience. It boasted accolades and backing from T Bone Burnett (who helped get him signed to Rounder) and songwriting contributions from respected names like Steve Earle and John Paul White. But arriving in April of the year the world stopped turning hindered Ledger’s ability to support it.
Perhaps those results will improve on this post-pandemic follow-up, which largely embraces the throwback sonic footsteps of its impressive predecessor. Ledger returns to his West Coast home, brings in Shooter Jennings as producer, and crafts material hewed in the mid-’60s. His soaring Roy Orbison-by-way-of-Chris Isaak vocals combine with the lush countrypolitan vibes that made Glen Campbell’s music so enduring for an idiosyncratic set unlike anything currently out there.
From the opening eerie strings leading into the title track’s sweet sublime melody and anchored by Ledger’s alternately soaring and supple vocals, to his cozy Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood-styled collaboration with Erin Rae on “Some Misty Morning,” Ledger and Jennings reference older California-oriented country/pop without copying it. The rugged retro slow dance of “Obviously” (a co-write with Kendell Marvel) also adheres to an earlier, simpler time. You’d be forgiven for thinking you have erroneously skipped to an Orbison obscurity as the spiraling “I’m Not Here,” with its closing thunderous vocal, and “Midnight in L.A.” replicates the late singer’s torchy melodrama.
Lyrically, Ledger matches this vivid music with a wistful sense of loss yet hope for places and people he has left behind to find a better future. The tempo shifts towards a softly rocking Everly Brothers folk vibe for “Court of Love,” but generally the mood wraps you in its melancholy warmth, making the best use of Ledger’s marvelous full-throated baritone vocals.
These effortlessly melodic tunes and Ledger’s rich performance sound familiar. It’s the mark of quality songwriting, near-perfect production, and an artist comfortable in his own unique talents.
. Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
