Howard Barna - Quite A Feelin [CD]

Barna Howard was born and raised in a quintessential Midwest town. His youth in Eureka, Missouri was pure Americana " the sort of childhood that inspired E.T.-era Spielberg " baseball cards in his bicycle spokes, flying freely down Main Street and through neighbours'' backyards. After high school, Howard moved north to study animation in one cold and windy city and then east for love in another. Years later, he blindly followed two friends to the Northwest, crossing the Rockies for the first time, in search of inspiration, opportunity and a fresh start. Barnas self-titled debut chronicled these moves as he struggled with the contrast between his small town upbringing and these big city wanderings. The album was met with critical acclaim and underground success, partly thanks to an opportunely placed song in the hit indie film, Drinking Buddies. One critic even likened him to some lost genius of the 60s. The songs on Barna Howards second album, Quite A Feelin, ruminate on his relationship with home. Now entrenched in Portland, Oregon, many of the albums tracks immortalise and reflect on the Eureka he once knew, while others focus on the relationships that define his new home out west. Small town life has long been celebrated in country and folk music, but Barnas knack for capturing his own deeply personal nostalgia resonates in a rarely universal way.