Since joining the band after their fourth album, Tim O’Reagan showed his value to the Jayhawks, not only as a solid drummer but a harmonist and songwriter with his own strength. His songs were standouts when they appeared, so he wisely took advantage of the band’s hiatus to finally do an album of his own. While he gets help from other Jayhawks, Jim Boquist of Son Volt, and even his own parents on his eponymous debut, he’s credited with playing several instruments. Even nicer, it was distributed by Lost Highway, the band’s most recent label.Tim O’Reagan has a pleasant homespun feel, starting with the old-timey “These Things”. “Black & Blue” and “River Bends” have enough country twang, but “Highway Flowers” sounds most like the band, with the harmonies and Gary Louris’s unmistakable lead guitar tone. His voice can’t help but sound lovelorn and weary, particularly on “Everybody’s Only”, while “That’s The Game” sounds like a remake of a British Invasion nugget using cardboard boxes, and that’s meant in a good way. “Ivy” breaks away from the mold with a falsetto vocal and almost arty approach, and “Girl/World” is back to a back woods stomp. “Ocaso Rosa” (which means “pink sunset”; we looked it up) is a Mexican-flavored instrumental, at odds with the garage vibe of “Just Like You”, and “Plaything” has some experimental touches that don’t detract from the song. All in all, a nice surprise of a detour.
Tim O’Reagan Tim O’Reagan (2006)—3
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