CD Review: Cohen Paper Moon (Truhart)

Despite having an oversized live band featuring accordions, glockenspiels and whatnot, Cohen Hartman shows admirable restraint on his album, Paper Moon, dotting his songs with slight percussion (“Ghost” utilizes a rattled chain), swooning backup vocals and homey banjos. He fills the empty spaces with his careful lyrics sung with the perfect inkling of drama. “Just a Jack” features a guitar as delicate as dew, and lyrical wisteria like “silkworms spill out through the floor to spin the dress your mother wore.” Cohen belongs to a new breed of songwriters like Andrew Bird and M. Ward, where the sparse sonics are as important as the expressive vocals. It’s hard to believe a record this good is by a hometown kid this young. myspace.com/cohenbr

Recommended if you like: Will Oldham, Bright Eyes, Jens Lekman

Essential tracks: “Paper Moon,” “Ghost,” “Just a Jack,” “The Room” and “The Box”