Ken Stringfellow to me is like a really good friend that I only talk to once every 4 or 5 years. I first became a fan in the early 90's when Ken was co-fronting the brilliant (but never commercially successful) The Posies. I still consider their Dear 21 album to be among the best examples of lush, jangly, harmony-laden power-pop ever committed to tape. It's difficult to imagine why this band didn't become more popular, considering the strength of their material, their talent and their looks. Perhaps one of more significant casualties of Grunge, The Posies.

Stringfellow stayed busy recording 6 albums with The Posies and spent a few years as a touring member of R.E.M., but with Soft Commands, Ken is serving notice that he is far from ready to kick-it on the porch and rest on his respectable legacy. He recorded this album all over the world and it shows, as Stringfellow applies his audacious pop acumen to a variety of world styles - but all laced with a common thread that keeps the affair from only occasionally becoming frustratingly erratic. Mostly Stringfellow goes about his song-writing as boldly as Beck. And what at first struck me as questionable artistic choices both in production and arrangement, ultimately prove to be the moves of a gambler on a role.

Take the straight-forward seriousness of the opener "You Drew" with it's stark and solitary piano chord strikes and lyrical smarts, that evolve into effervescent wash of swollen and confident melodic grandeur. Track 4 finds Stringfellow working his way through Beach Boys territory, with swirling multi-layered vocals that give a tip of the hat to both Brian and Mike. Much of the album stays true to the early 70's singer-songwiter approach, relying heavily on piano and mostly rich organic textures. But he doesn't hesitate with experimentating with mixing styles, one minute you'll hear Bacharach, then a Parisian accordion carnival touch and on "You Become the Dawn" a reggae complete with a men's choir.

Stringfellow has created a rodeo beast that at times threatens to throw him to the dirt, but just when you think he's not gonna last the requisite 8 seconds he gracefully tames the bull and tips his hat to the crowd and like a true showman rides off into the sunset like the hero that he's always been.