Ever since listening to Tom Ciurczak’s work on the first volume of ‘I Ain’t Ever Growing Up’ in 2023, I’ve been increasingly excited to know what he will follow up the effervescent country warmth with.
The follow-up -we’re pleased to report- is just as warm and as uplifting as last year’s offering. Southern California-based singer and songwriter Tom Ciurczak writes songs that are tight and punchy pieces of outlaw and country rock. Mostly based on variations of his elegant guitar lines, ranging from the coastal ease of cuts such as ‘Lie To Me’ to the hairy, hell-raising riffs on cuts like ‘Day Drinker’.
The songs on this album, just like its successful predecessor, are uniformly engaging, more often than not awesome showcases for Ciurczak’s ability to write a really catchy hook. His arrangement skills are also brilliantly displayed on the songs. With a lineup consisting of his and Matt Hornbeck’s guitars, keyboards by Aaron Durr, drums by Steven Haaker, bass by Travis Carlton, harmonica by Matt Lomeo, and backing vocals by Harrison Crenshaw and Jayme Palmer, Ciurczak excels at crafting various atmospheres using the talents he has at hand, while also delicately avoiding the trap of ending up with overly saturated mixes with instrumental jumbles.
The easy jangle of ‘Small Town Girls’ and the tropical breeziness of ‘Lie To Me’ with get lovers of easygoing country rock bands like Dawes completely bought, while the jailhouse blues riffs of ‘Mexican Jail’ and ‘I Ain’t Ever Growing Up’ with sway the lovers of heavier colors of the genre, artists such as Bruce Springsteen. The closer ‘War Of The Worlds’ is also a terrific cut. Channeling the modal curiosity of Pink Floyd and injecting it with the familiarity of Ciurczak’s easygoing chord structures, his reaffirming presence, and expressive vocals. The song also features a beautiful guest vocal part.
The second volume of I Ain’t Ever Growing Up turned out just as passionate and as warm the first one. Featuring, first and foremost, Ciurczak’s sublime songwriting, ever balanced, engaging, and delightful, the songs on the album are uniformly emotionally stirring, enjoyable, and beautiful. With mixes that are also uniformly balanced and wholesome, this album ends up a wonderful addition to Tom Ciurczak’s ever-growing canon.
Catch Tom at the world-famous Whisky A-Go-Go at Los Angeles’s Sunset Strip on this upcoming August 15th!
