Blood of Man (Bonus Track Version)

On the chorus of the opening song Mason Jennings croons “City of ghosts!” sounding nearly identical to the part of the Doors’ “L.A. Woman” where Jim Morrison sings, “City at night!.” Blood of Man is an inspired affair contrasted by a warm and tastefully muted production, and while that aforementioned bit does indeed channel Morrison, “City of Ghosts” is a more interesting number replete with squealing guitar feedback and a hypnotic tambourine. It's Jennings’ eighth studio long-player, but it’s his first electric album. He played every instrument here and the recording sounds refreshingly edgy. In “Pittsburgh” Jennings inflects with a Ric Ocasek aloofness but he still recalls Lou Reed when he lackadaisically sings about the summer that his buddy’s girl OD’d. “Ain’t No Friend of Mine” flirts with sludgy, stoner-rock riffs and bonus track “Waves” is a surfer’s hymn that sounds like Dennis Wilson backed by an early-‘90s indie-rock band.