Jonah Matranga - Not About a Girl or a Place

This Massachusetts born singer-songwriter has been churning out the tunes since 1991, with his first band Far, and then solo project onelinedrawing. Enough time to amass a reasonably sizeable following, but also, you would suspect, enough time to write some decent tunes. This, the first single from latest album, And, is a by-the-numbers country pop ballad, dealing, in true troubadour fashion, with love, the scriptures, the end of the world... you know the schtick. Catchy yes, but in a brain grating way; like a 12-year-old learning guitar in his bedroom. This is that 12-year-old's first song, and thus gets two stars for effort. [Wilbur Kane]