The California-based Poltz isn't exactly a prolific solo recording artist, this being his third release in ten years. But what he lacks in volume is more than recouped in the quality of his songs and performances. While with The Rugburns in the mid-90s, Poltz struck up a friendship with the pop chanteuse Jewel and co-wrote her hit single "You Were Meant for Me." A deal with Merucy led to his 1998
These eleven tracks, available for download via the Internet or on CD at Poltz's shows, are the quirkier flipside of Poltz's recent album Traveling. It's as though the singer-songwriter worked through darker emotions with therepeutic expression and broadened soundscapes on his way to the more conventional sounds offered on Traveling. This set a mixed bag rather than a polished album, veering fr...