See The Morning Light

Minneapolis folk-rocker Dan Israel returns with his 10th album, a (mostly) solo acoustic offering of 12 all-new songs. Last time around, Dan got a 4-star review in the U.K.'s vaunted Uncut magazine for the 'Turning' album: DAN ISRAEL Turning Eclectone Records **** (4 stars) Ninth outing for self-effacing Minnesota rocker Seven years ago, Midwestern rocker Dan Israel took stock of his relative obscurity, stripped his sound down to a lone guitar, and released Dan Who?, a withering examination of the troubadour's life in a hollow age. The world-weariest songs on Turning - the bluesy 'Just Don't Know,' the title track - continue to prick at the emotions and insecurities of the strive-a-day life with a graceful, eloquent brand of everyman's poetry, but when Israel blends those concerns with an innate pop sense worthy of Petty or Westerberg, as on 'News to Me' or the driving chug of 'Counting on You,' he dazzles. --Luke Torn.