Amos Lee: Mission Bell review

Singer-songwriter Amos Lee's fourth album was produced by Calexico's Joey Burns, and the results are nice enough.

Nothing on Mission Bell is likely to surprise those familiar with Lee's previous albums; his singing is still soulful, every song flows smoothly (detractors would say "unfolds predictably"), and the overall sound can be described as "mainstream coffee shop" (Starbucks, specifically).

Mellow is the word I'd use to describe the whole thing if I had to pick just one word, but luckily, I can expand and get into specifics.

There are a few stylistic detours; "El Camino" is a great, folky opener that quietly draws you in, "jesus" features some dusty (just about dirty) electric guitar and handclaps, and "Cup of Sorrow" has a foot-tapping country quality.

Despite the variations, though, Lee kept it safe, as in kind of the same thing with different decorations (as opposed to messing around at all with the core elements or the formula). So, while I enjoy the aforementioned songs as I enjoy the whole album, I do wonder how things might have gone had he taken things further—what if "El Camino" was full on folk, and there was more character in the vocals? What if "Jesus" included dirtier vocals and a rawer production? What if "Cup of Sorrow" had some twang and some foot stomping?

Elsewhere, "Hello Again" exists as the one track I'll probably skip on future listens, as the Stevie Wonder thing doesn't work because the song just isn't that good.

Mission Bell features a handful of guest vocalists, who fit in well without taking songs over. Even with appearances by powerful singers like Lucinda Williams ("Clear Blue Eyes") and Willie Nelson (the "El Camino" reprise), Lee is never seriously outshined and the easy-going flow is never broken.

Again, this album is nice. It's not a left turn move and I don't think it's an artistic breakthrough of any kind, and although Lee might be due for something like that soon, this collection is okay in the meantime.