James Jackson Toth

For his solo debut album, the Tennessee-based singer and songwriter James Jackson Toth has conjured a mysterious, alluring world peopled by characters that could have been pulled from the pages of a Faulkner novel or from one of photographer William Eggleston's stark portraits of Memphis barflies. Toth's scenarios are intriguingly tawdry, his sounds tantalizing, with beautifully layered, almost-dreamlike harmonies; touches of blues, country and soul; the occasional flash of punk swagger; and even some sweet Fleetwood Mac-inspired pop. With his evocative, world-weary drawl of a voice, Toth assumes the role of storyteller, maybe even confessor, spinning inter-linked tales of hope and misfortune, romantic trials and spiritual yearning. Toth has impressive, vinyl-era ambition; he's fashioned a disc that works as a cohesive whole, sequenced with such old-school care it could practically be called a concept album.

Toth admits there's a theme to Waiting In Vain, though it's more insinuated than announced: "Waiting In Vain is kind of about temptation and redemption, and the varying ways you can view these things."