Daniel Romano

Daniel Romano is the rare sort of singer-songwriter who manages to be both a shapeshifter and a reliable presence. His songs mostly fit under the country-fried-rock umbrella: both 2016’s Mosey and 2017’s Modern Pressure felt like soundtracks for sunburned mischief. But on Finally Free, released in November, Romano sounds positively Lennon-esque as he sheds the sun-baked sensibilities of his last two records. He trades the heart-quickening arrangements that made Mosey and Modern Pressure feel bold and springy for more subtle gestures, which take the form in more intricate acoustic-guitar curlicues and mystical lyrics. Romano’s world-weary vocal delivery remains thoroughly intact. The freedom that coalesces on Finally Free feels both bittersweet and uncertain—it’s a new angle from Romano, but one that makes for an intriguing foil to the carefree air of his earlier material. T. Hardy Morris and Lonnie Walker open. —Allison Hussey