Album Review: Shakey Graves - And The War Came

Shakey Graves is the moniker of Texas-based Americana proponent Alejandro Rose-Garcia, whose second LP And The War Came blends nuanced lo-fi freak-folk and straightforward pop-rock to find unique middle ground.

His oddly expressive voice adds gravitas to his deft guitar playing – at times augmented by a band, elsewhere holding court on his own – and songs like the bombastic Dearly Departed, the gently melancholic Big Time Nashville Star and the achingly optimistic If Not For You cumulatively prove that there’s plenty of quality lurking behind the quirk.