Kicker Town (Crossroads, 2013)

It's not often you hear a CD with a frontman whose claim to fame is his photography, but say hello to Rusty Truck's Mark Seliger. The band's music leans toward pop/rock with a sometimes-heavy dose of country (if you can even tell the difference between country and rock these days).

All Good, as one example, sounds like a good-old-boys bar song on the chorus. Sister Maria is a lament about something, though you have to listen carefully to get the drift of his pain. It does feature a nice instrumental break, something unusual in this type of music.

Good Is Gone captures your attention, a song of broken love, underlined by an infectious bass line from Sheldon Gomerg. Most listeners will be happy with the music and the beat without unraveling the message of the lyrics, even if they know the words. The music was mixed with a distinct drum beat from Joey Peters, but, thankfully, the drums support the music instead of being the centerpiece heard in so many modern mixes that emphasize a dance beat over everything else. When you listen to Buildings and especially Blood Brothers you may recall Dire Straits because there's some strong resemblance in the chord progressions.

Rattle Trucks is more of a ballad, a broken love song, and gives you a chance to hear Eric Heywood on steel guitar. Once again, you have to think about the lyrics, making the connection between the notion of "we had a three-legged dog on the streets of Mexico" to a love that worked and now doesn't, but it makes good listening if you aren't terribly concerned about connecting all the lyrical dots. This may be a result of (from the press release) turning four years worth of bits and pieces of songs into 11 complete songs. Cracker Jack Sunday is yet another song that you'll love to hum along with, but may scratch your head if someone asks you what it means.

"Kicker Town" is fun to listen to, fun to sing along with in a Louie, Louie sort of way, even if a bit of a lyrical mystery.