
Crushed Stars ' album In the Bright Rain has been haunting me for past two months. Based on the music and the photo on the inner sleeve Todd Gautreau is a dour fellow, but he does dour with class. Gautreau who is 90% of Crushed Stars has created a low-key masterpiece that combines the melancholy bookishness of Lloyd Cole , the cascading guitars of Felt and the refined elegance of the Blue Nile . He writes, sings and plays most everything except for drums where he employs the help Jeff Ryan of War on [...]