John Krautner "Cinnamon Lake"

John Krautner

Cinnamon Lake

scum stats: limited to 500 copies

John Krautner is the most criminally overlooked songwriter in Detroit from of the past three decades, possibly longer.

I had LONG tried to begged John (best known for his work in the Go and Conspiracy of Owls) to let me release some of his solo work, without any luck. Third Man put the video for his song "Buster You're A Real Cool Cat" as part of our pandemic Public Access video series and that song only hinted at the brilliance contained on Cinnamon Lake.

John and I were seated next to each other at a dinner recently when he told me about the album, he instantly sent me a preview link to listen to it. Ever impatient, while going to pull the car up from the lot down the block, I jammed the music immediately. When I got back to the spot, I asked him "Did you sing...I shared a dream with a lizard I know?"

He chuckled to himself, probably both at the lyric itself and the fact that I had just instantly absorbed it. Whimsical without being cloying, charming without reeking of effort. Just simple and easy. 

As I told John, my favorite part on the whole album in the guitar solo on "Stop Breaking Mirrors" to which he replied...

"I tried to tell Jamie (producer) to make Noah Eikoff play the solo because I'm not great at soloing, but he pounded his fist on the desk and said 'No! We're keeping it.' I'm glad he did."

Beautiful acoustic light vibes with a soft airy voice you can get lost in. I'm reminded a lot of Detroit's favorite son Rodriguez, but with all the overproduction stripped back, patiently adorned and as rewarding a listen as you could hope for all year. A certified must-have.