Perfect Day

Personnel: Bob Schneider (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Billy Cassis (vocals, guitar); Billy Harvey (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards); Harmoni Kelley, Oliver Steck, Ted Roberson (vocals); Marcus Cardwell (saxophone); Erik Telford (trumpet); Raúl Vallejo (trombone); David Boyle (keyboards); Conrad Choucroun (drums, percussion, chimes); J.J. Johnson (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Dave McNair.
Austin-based singer/songwriter Bob Schneider's fourth long-player was inspired by an afternoon boat trip with a friend on Central Texas' Lake Travis. Light, breezy, and effortless, the suitably titled Perfect Day is languid without being sleepy, and clever enough to appease fans of the husky-voiced crooner's earlier, edgier material. Bolstered by stand-out, radio-ready cuts like "Honeypot," "Everything You Love," and "Penelope Cruz," Perfect Day is less infused with the shades of folk-funk and mambo-infused pop/rock that peppered earlier releases like I'm Good Now and Lovely Creatures, and more concerned with watching the sun go down in the rear view mirror. Is it earth shattering stuff? Not really, but the Ypsilanti, Michigan native has crafted a perfect little siesta of a record that, like old friends, never wears out its welcome, and leaves a lasting weekend glow that makes the daily grind a little more tolerable. ~ James Christopher Monger