Streamline (Safehouse, 2002)

Here' s yet another reason why you should never judge a book - or compact disc - by its cover. By all signs and signals and decorated with markings from a road map, Robert McCreedy's disc looks like another album of tasteful folk from a well-intentioned singer-songwriter. Well, it ain't necessarily so. McCreedy leaps over the bar with tricky tunes that push the format ever farther - from the deceptive "Diane" - it ought to be a love song, but it's really a thank-you note to a woman who keeps the protagonist safely hidden from anyone who wants to find him - to the lilting but danceable "Gone Again," and ever onward. McCreedy's band includes Whiskeytown's Mike Daly - also the producer - and an occasional backing-vocal turn from Laura Cantrell.

By lacing these folky efforts with discreet fiddle and a light by luscious layer of organ, McCreedy, a former member of The Volebeats, angles his efforts toward the Beatlesque. An album with many depths.