Secondhand Smoke

McConnell’s latest pulls you right in with the melancholic reunion of a father and son in the title track and follows it up with the driving “Here We Go.” Ballads like “Everything That’s Good” and “Wrong Side of Town” are beautiful. The blues-styled “Rest My Head” takes the listener on the run. The album also offers a couple of religion inspired lyrics including “I Could Have Been An Angel” in which Satan reminds Jesus that he started like everyone “shiny and new” and anyone could fall or “The Devil’s Ball”—a haunting waltz set in Hell. Meanwhile while “Alien” uses science fiction imagery to describe his unique love. Secondhand Smoke was produced in his home studio with him playing nearly all the instruments and loses nothing without the professional production influence. At the heart of the album is McConnell’s solid songwriting and beautiful tenor.