MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: T. BUCKLEY - MILES WE PUT BEHIND

Easy-going. That's the feel of Alberta singer-songwriter T. Buckley's fourth album. Not easy listening, no, not that derogatory term for old-style popular crooners. Easy-going, as in friendly, pleasant, easy to enjoy, good-natured and natural. Buckley straddles all the roots genres, a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll, the songs coming at you with toe-tapping tempos and singalong melodies, making you relax and feel just fine.

There's nothing light about what he's doing though. Songs this easy to understand and enjoy are crafted and polished, every thought precise and each line a little gem. Take this scene at the local hangout, from Twilight Diner: "Shining up the counter, the coffee starts to flow, a nightly congregation gathers in the glow." Already you can picture the characters and setting. You don't know what's coming, but you're ready to hang on every word. Or how about this admission, from rural life: "I'm just a rock stuck in the country, trying to be a rolling stone."

Buckley has the catchy melodies of the '70's era singer-songwriters, when writers like James Taylor and Cat Stevens ruled, and the succinct writing of the later Texas school, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. But the one he really reminds me of on this record is Jesse Winchester, who also never failed to put the song in songwriter.