antiMusic.com: Chris Barron - Angels and One-Armed Jugglers Review

Chris Barron - Angels and One-Armed Jugglers

by Kevin Wierzbicki

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Don't worry Spin Doctors fans; guitarist and singer Chris Barron has not left the band. He's merely stepping out with this solo album to, as he puts it, "Express the broadness of my musicality." The album begins with the downbeat title track, a horn-augmented sad tale that sets the theme but not the tone for the rest of the effort. "April and May" is a rollicking pop number very much in the style of Spin Doctors, "Gonna (Need Someone)" could live nicely in the Jackson Browne oeuvre and "Still a Beautiful World" begins as a near lullaby but quickly gets into a bright pop groove, despite the fact that the lyrics include jabs at what mankind has done to its habitat. Album standout "The World Accordion to Garp" not only features clever lyrical wordplay but it also spotlights Barron's voice as he sings softly, yes accompanied by accordion courtesy of Kevin Bents. The album ends with "Too Young to Fade," another Spin Doctors-ish cut, and with Barron yet to reach 50-years-old he clearly fits into that category and Angels and One-Armed Jugglers reinforces that notion nicely.

Release date October 20, 2017

Chris Barron - Angels and One-Armed Jugglers
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