Rich Arithmetic

Pushbutton Romance

Self-released

The second album from him is a dandy--chiming Byrds-y guitars, dynamic backing, and his slightly sour voice, which isn’t a slam, as I like the way it bends all around the lyrics.

The relationship songs are smart and sensible, with a “whatever” attitude in “You Are Always Right.” “Thema Toh Selah (Zambian Zombie Samba)” is fun to hear and to dance to, and the surf instrumental “Saving Sunset” is, well, good to hear at summer sunset times.

The three-part “A Teenage Hymn” is not just about growing up, but being old and looking back, bittersweet, at those years. It’s also a wry “this is the way it was for me” recollection.

The two political songs ring out the way the Byrds adapted “Pete Seeger’s “Turn Turn Turn.” “Moral Blight,” about getting away from it, could also be about standing against apathy. “Bend the Arc” of justice quotes Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement: “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” In this election year, this song couldn’t be more important; democracy hangs by a thread. Where are the protesters, say the ones right now in college, standing up for it en mass? Someone should tell them that if we lose democracy, we lose the right to protest, to dissent when governments take the wrong positions.

Not that this is a lecture. This album has too light a touch and is too mature for that. It’s just a great album, a needed one, so if you care about good music, and yes, democracy, get this. It’s wonderful, and more than worth your time.

Andrea Weiss