Counting Crows

Counting Crows are not the most prolific of bands - producing just six albums of new material in more than 20 years. In the UK (maybe less so in the US) the band are pinned to the success of their 1993 debut, August & Everything After. The widescreen American storytelling of that album, inspired in part by U2's The Joshua Tree, would have been hard for most bands to match. But the life and challenges of lead man Adam Duritz have also contributed to the lengthy gaps in releases. He suffers from 'depersonalization disorder', which can make you feel detached from your body and thoughts.

This condition has also influenced his lyrics -- and here there are hints of references on John Appleseed's Lament. Appleseed was an American pioneer nurseryman, who introduced apple trees to a number of US States, but not for the first time, Duritz seems to be battling his own personality, as his lover pleads with him to say what is wrong; " I could love you, I could leave you, but I can't live with what you put me through". There is also a reference to Maria - and Crows fans will recognise the female fixation from a song that bares great similarity to John Appleseed's Lament, 1999's epic Mrs Potter's Lullaby.

That benchmark is a good one, because since 1993, the band have only rarely reached the heights of their debut. Apart from 2002's wonderful pop-rock of Hard Candy, their releases have been patchy. In the last decade, there have been live albums, cover albums and the disappointing Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings. However, Somewhere Under Wonderland is certainly their best album since Hard Candy, and arguably, since their debut.

Signs are good from the moment the haunting trumpet of Palisades Park fades, and we are taken on an eight minute ride of nostalgia. The tale of lost childhood friendship has a wonderful accompanying film and this is Crows at their best. It also opens the door for an album that almost literally takes us around the United States - where geographical references abound.

LA appears, and not just on Elvis Went To Hollywood. Lyrically throughout, Duritz seems to be on the move. There's the alienation of Dislocation which visits New Mexico and Baltimore, while the delicate God Of Ocean Tides stops off in west Tennessee, Carolina and California. New York, New Orleans and Maine also get mentioned across the nine tracks. Cover Up The Sun sums up this sense of travel, with an Americana trip starting in Colorado before the sun-sets after a visit to Mardi Gras.

This sense of being on the move and searching for lost memories permeates the album - and the closing heartbreak of Possibility Days encapsulates that in the album's finest moment. Starting with a "cold 3AM at JFK", we are witness to Duritz at his most tender. The song has the air of a middle-aged cynic, whose heart has been hurt one too many times; "So you pull down the shades and you shut off the lights, because somehow we mixed up Goodbye with Goodnight". It's a stunning close to a fine album. It's good to have them back on form.