Album review: ArrangingTime is Pete Yorn’s lushest solo album

The production in ArrangingTime is meticulous. Yorn’s voice changes from song to song and sounds best at its most natural.

Arranging Time is American singer-songwriter Pete Yorn's sixth solo album. Capitol via AP

ArrangingTime

Pete Yorn

(Capitol Records)

4 Stars

Pete Yorn returns after an extended hiatus with ArrangingTime, his sixth and lushest solo studio album since his 2001 debut Musicforthemorningafter.

ArrangingTime shares more than just space bar anaemia with his first album. R Walt Vincent is back on half of the 12 tracks, and like the other co-producers, helps out on a wide range of instruments.

The production is meticulous. Yorn’s voice changes from song to song and sounds best at its most natural.

Lyrically, there’s a lot of angst, hardly a healthy relationship in sight and the unease can be overwhelming. The melodies are sweet but it’s a bitter delicacy.

A sampling: "This fire's burnt out, I can't blame myself if you're walking out" (This Fire); "I couldn't be the one to warm your heart" (Summer Was a Day); "I'm not the one you should be leaning on, I'm not the one who likes to stay too long" (I'm Not the One).

Halifax begins like early R E M, Lost Weekend has an 80s synth bass, the melody soars on In Your Head and Screaming at the Setting Sun is practically danceable, as is Tomorrow.

Yorn still writes splendid songs even when his characters are miserable.

* Pablo Gorondi