Written by: Dave Cantrell

In what is almost certainly our last album premiere of the year, and seeing as we often feel that such features amount to something of an offering, a gift if you will, it feels both appropriate and fortuitous to be bringing you, right here in the thick of gift-giving season, the newest album from young phenom songwriter Eric Schroeder, pithily titled The Crucifixion of Eric Schroeder.

Looking for that special something for the music fan that obsesses over the late 70s Laurel Canyon-goes-electric vibe? Worry not, this has that. The sharp, wry songwriter fan that favors, among many others, the Johns Hiatt and Prine? This album’s got that as well, the latter, in fact, even name-checked in what is possibly the album’s most affecting track, the damned-near anthemic “What’re You Going to Do.” Or maybe you’re looking for that perfect sonic stocking stuffer for the uncle that has an unrepentant soft spot for that era of rock’n’roll when the raucous was tempered by a rough-hewn vulnerability. Well, you can cross that one off too. Truly, it’s all here in this young artist that has, over the course of not that many years, gelled from a promising young talent to an established, bona fide major songwriter on the verge of wider acclaim. In terms of the album under discussion here, the growth inherent has not a little to do with having added an electric band to carry his songs to fruition. As often happens, the adding of a dynamic new element had the knock-on effect of upping the stakes in terms of songwriting and that’s exactly what we’re hearing here. While it’s not exactly a reprise of the classic country rock years – you won’t really hear echoes of Poco or The Desert Rose Band here – there is a hint of what, say, Waylon Jennings would have sounded like if he’d been an intrinsic part of the that milieu. Country but not, rock but not exactly (though you’ll get rocked plenty – check out the cleverly aggro confessionalism of declarative opener “Be Alone” or “The War on My Mind”‘s punkish regret and anger that’s as addictive as any track on here), Crucifixion is perhaps best defined by the not infrequent appearance of buzzing amp anticipation that precedes this or that track here and there combined (and in beautiful contrast) with the intimate likes of the Neil Young-ish “Nice Guy” or the stripped-back Van Zandtisms of “Drunk on the Beach.”

Not quite a tour-de-force but definitely heading in that direction, we gotta say we’re thrilled to be presenting a talent that we suspect won’t long be under the covers of whatever relative obscurity for long. In fact, if we were the betting type, we’d put money on the expectation that Mr Schroeder will soon be a mainstay on both mainstream country and alt.rock radio stations and a slew of online streams before 2022 has a chance to even wake up. Basically? Yeah, you heard it here first. Count us among the freshly smitten.