A folk singer unafraid of big arrangements and even bigger emotions, Ellis Paul writes journalistic, empathetic songs about being adrift in America’s capitalist wilderness. On last year’s full-length release The Day After Everything Changed, the Maine native wrote a series of pained compositions that added electric guitars, keyboards and horns to his sturdy tunes. Paul has been turning heads in Boston for 20 years, and while he makes a good ambassador for liberalism, his observations sound pretty universal. Several of the tunes on The Day After were written with Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, resulting in an accessible take on the downside of American economic life. “Rose Tattoo” concerns a man who has just lost his job: “It’s a rainy drive home with one good wiper,” Paul sings. Like the rest of Paul’s work, it’s tough-minded and softhearted in equal measure.
— Edd Hurt