Arizona twangsmith Jeff Napolitani writes from the perspective of a poor kid from off of Route 83 in Pennsylvania, though now he’s all grown up and carrying the hard-hurting freight of life and love, which live in a solid set of songs on this full-length album. Stop callin' me is full of jangle-and-strum roots-pop: “got me inside”, with its Buddy Holly-like vocal delivery, is the catchy handclapper; “Feel of the wind” chugs with an early ‘90s hit, power pop melody; and the tutle track  stomps with an ironic exuberance. Napolitano is most memorable, though, when he slows it down on tender, lovesick ballads with Springsteenian detail, either bumming out over the failed promise of American way of life or singing the prettiest song you’ll ever hear about falling in love with a beaten-up hooker in a truck-stop bathroom. Catchy and soulful.

Michael Vargas

[Arizona dream 'zine, 09-09 issue]