Charleston, WV-based artist Jonathan Calhoun returns with Lifetime on I-79, a fifth album that blends personable people songwriting with road-worn reflection. Recorded in his house studio, the songs heart on acoustic guitar and unguarded vocals, tracing private reminiscences and societal observations alike. Drawing on influences from Springsteen to Petty whereas forging his personal path, Calhoun crafts a set that feels timeless, heartfelt, and unmistakably rooted in West Virginia.
The album’s title monitor is particularly indicative of Calhoun’s high quality songwriting, which echoes a no-frills people prowess amidst heart-on-sleeve lyrical tendencies, reminding fondly of Magnetic Fields in that regard. “I used to be in search of journey, and a companion for the experience,” the vocals exude on the title monitor. “So started an countless journey on I-79.” The palpable sense of soul-searching and its context on the roads of I-79 is apt, with the “lonesome freeway” comparisons delivered poignantly. Ensuing monitor “2 A lot 2 Love” unveils a smitten feeling in its “throughout the room” recollections, punctuated by twangy guitar work consultant of Calhoun’s hazy rock skills as effectively.
A twangy rock-forward appeal additionally exhibits on “Sunnyside Blues,” the place vivid lyrical reminiscing of school days pairs with bluesy guitar work and “because the solar goes down” party-starting pleasure is depicted. Elsewhere, “Individuals are the Downside” performs like a lecture on society’s me-first mentality and the “technique of management” forces that affect all of it. Lifetime on I-79 constantly enamors in its memorable songwriting, navigating people and rock cohesion inside poignant thematic sentiments.