Mark Pickerel manged to slip by me til just a few months ago despite having one of the more distinguished musical resume's you may hope to find. After his initial burst with the Screaming Trees and later Truly he has been somewhat of a gun for hire of late, playing on all manner of projects and with all manner of artist including Neko Case and The Dusty 45s and also the one that is quite the significant footnote, namely contributing two songs to the Nirvana box-set which he recorded with Kurt and Chris back in the late 80s.

But as this song intones - Don't Look Back - this second of his solo albums billed as Mark Pickerel and his Praying Hands is a gloriously smoky affair that just seems to have that almost perfect level of restraint. There isnt a single wasted note on here and nothing at all seems even slightly overdone or ill-considered. Its just comfortable like a silence you share with your closest friend, knowing that something pleasing will always follow it.

This track in particular just flows along so breezily with these subtle little vocal melodies and phrases kicked along by this deft slide guitar escorted by an almost off-hand drum beat. But the thing has these unassuming yet relentless melodies and hooks to it that just follow you for days. Its the sort of songwriting that I don't think coud ever be taught, only the end result of many, many hours/days/years spent in studios and on stages. Which at the end of the day, you gotta be thankful for as there's stuff as good as this to listen to at the end of it. One to add to your 'break up song' playlist.