The Autumn Defense - Once Around (Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition) (2020)

By day, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone are members of rock standard-bearers Wilco, but for over a decade the pair have fronted passion project The Autumn Defense. Once Around is the group's fourth full length album and finds the band's steady, creative ease percolating directly into its music. The album's tracks are plaintive but don't pander and their melodies unfurl effortlessly while also unmistakably setting the hook, not to be easily shaken. Stirratt and Sansone mine 70s AM gold and drape it in their decidedly modern sensibilities, resulting in an album that is fresh yet decidedly familiar. A bit of musical deja vu, Once Around is the thinking man's easy listening