Mike Hotter | Room to Land
There is, indeed, room to land on singer-songwriter Mike Hotter's so-titled, decade-long effort. Beginning with a lyrically and musically expansive Califone-esque quality, the journey continues into more rootsy territory, keeping pace with pensive jags and emotional bends. It plays and reads like a journal written in different places and mental spaces, on random bits of paper stained with tears, raindrops, dried blood, and coffee. Too dramatic? Then wash the dishes and go for a drive, just don't expect clear skies. Hotter conveys how while we all want the happy things, the truth walks at its own pace, available to those accepting of shades of grey. Sad and hopeful: "Sun rose and the hollows of our hands were open wide." Fans of Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) and Mark Lanegan will enjoy. A Yo La Tengo cover and an instrumental add to the range. Some songs are stripped bare, but most are aided and abetted by Hotter's fellow Capital District tinkers and tomcats.
