Leatherbag - Hey Day (self-released)

Leatherbag is a proponent of simple virtues. Energy, emotion, melody, clarity – song. Hey Day, the Austin combo’s sixth CD, strips jangly rock & roll down to its essence: no effects pedals, no complicated song structures, no tongue-twisting metaphors – just good songs, played well. Singer/songwriter Randy Reynolds is a remarkably adept tunesmith, able to shift a tender ballad like “Go to Sleep” into rock overdrive without indulging in power ballad clichés, rock a criticism of “Senseless Irony” into the ground and give a midtempo cut like “Lines” so much color it puts to shame similar efforts by better known acts. Perhaps the best tune is “Forever Blue,” a brilliant anthem that celebrates the creative urge as the only true reason to keep on rolling. Full of more tunes just as good, Hey Day is the kind of rock & roll album of which fans of songcraft dream.

http://www.leatherbagmusic.com