Dropping the Writ (2007)

FEEL OF DREAMS Cass McCombs' third CD has the Writ stuff

It's a rare musician who can finesse a great pop hook into a psych-rock jam, but on ''Deseret,'' Cass McCombs does just that with help from a twinkling piano and Beach Boys-style harmonies. On Dropping the Writ, his third full-length CD, the singer-songwriter seems to source his lyrics from dreams, with hazy impressions of longing and wonder that linger. The real gem here: ''That's That,'' a superb '70s AOR-style track on which a mournful pedal-steel guitar, a driving bass line, and McCombs' reedy voice alchemize into something almost divine. A-
DOWNLOAD THIS: Hear ''That's That'' at Cass McCombs' MySpace