Alex Nackman
Still Life Moves
Long Road Records
By Al Kaufman
With his pin-up good lucks and yearning vocals, a la John Mayer and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Alex Nackman is a teenage girl’s dream. He seems like the type of guy who, on a first date, would hold hands during a romantic walk to the pier, then do nothing more than put his arm around the girl as they watch the sun set over the water. He would give her a peck on the cheek as he drops her off, then, while she wrote in her diary, he would go home and write a song about the experience.
No, Nackman isn’t that sensitive, but he’s close. He writes well-crafted songs about falling in love, staring at the river, and watching fall turn into winter. Sure, the songs are metaphorical, but they’re about as subtle as the Viagra commercial where the football goes through the tire swing. His guitars are pretty and his pianos soar to the point that occasionally, such as on “Banking on November,” he sounds like Counting Crows when Adam Duritz is at his whiniest.
None of this is bad. This stuff sells. Girls are always looking for that sensitive, non-threatening guy. And, for some reason, there are even some guys who like Coldplay. Nackman has the stuff that should keep the John Mayers and Chris Martins of the world looking over their shoulder. And if he replaced them, nobody would probably notice.
Alex Nackman plays Smith’s Olde Bar on Monday, April 7. 8:30 pm
