Mission Bell Blue Note ****

There’s a warm familiarity to Amos Lee’s late-evening music, a warmth accentuated in this instance by the rich, moody production of Calexico’s Joey Burns. Lee’s earnest confessional Americana, with its hints of jazz and soul, occupies a similar space to

that of his former mentor, Norah Jones – lyrical, thoughtful, sensitive and quite easy on the ear. There are hints of serious trials and tribulations in songs such as Violinand the expansive Winds Are Rolled Down, while the soft desperation of Stay With Me and Learned a Lot implies the loneliness that seems to haunt much of Lee's fourth solo album. Lucinda Williams joins Lee for the fireside tearjerker, Clear Blue Eyes,but the Philadelphia-born songwriter is past needing celebrities to boost his stock. See amoslee. com

Download tracks: Violin, Winds Are Rolled Down, Learned a Lot