Ideal Man (LP)
Andrew Combs
Amoeba Review
07/28/2020
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Andrew Combs has spent much of his career crafting good ‘ol heartland rock, chock full of Americana signifiers like honky tonk piano, pedal steel, and tastefully harmonized vocals. A fully devoted acolyte of the Graham Parsons tradition. That is until Ideal Man, his fourth full-length studio album, in which the folksy troubadour undergoes a radically psychedelic transformation, apparent from the very first track. With its ethereal vocals and prominent fuzz guitar leads, “Stars Of Longing” sounds like the cosmic Donovan cut that never was. “Save Somebody” is an almost Harry Nilsson-esque ballad with cavernous reverb and a heavily echoed piano accompanying its beautiful melancholic chorus. “Dry Eyes” is reminiscent of Congratulations-era MGMT, a gleefully dazed and stumbling baroque-pop creation. Rarely do you see a genre artist expand their sound so dramatically and suddenly, but the most impressive aspect of Combs’ Ideal Man is simply how constantly great it is. His best work yet.