Columbia/Red Ink

If you like contemplative, sentimental, and croon-y singer-songwriters of the pre-trio John Mayer/Josh Radin/Jon McLaughlin ilk, then Ari Hest is right up your alley. Hest writes and sings about love, loss, and longing. His new album, The Break-in, which dropped May 1st, doesn’t stray very far from his previous work. While the topics are still the same, Hest is older now and his writing reflects a larger, less self-centric worldview. “I consciously took a step back and tried to look through other people’s eyes,” Hest says on his website. “Maybe it’s because I’m a little older or maybe I just care more now about what’s going on in the world.” The album does move into new territory in terms of production, but not always to its benefit. Hest has a pleasing gravelly baritone that serves his songs well. But the twangy guitars sprinkled throughout the album distract from his smooth delivery. He makes some attempts at edginess with the title track, throwing in some angsty electric guitar at the end, but doesn’t quite pull it off. Hest is strongest on songs “Bird Never Flies”, co-written with Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Golden Smog, and “When and If”, about a soldier longing to return home. Here, he pares it down, allowing his lyricism and smoldering voice to come through. These songs are closer to those on his previous release, The Green Room Sessions, a five-track EP recorded by Hest at his Brooklyn apartment that is Hest, stripped down, and at his best

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