Ryan Adams is Still Shining

 Happy new year and all of that malarkey to the self-conscious gaggle of hedonists out there resolving to trim down their waistlines and saggy bits for a pitiful week or two succeeding the turn of the “end of the world”; please save yourselves the spurious promises and pointless initiation fees at the gym and just go on an old fashioned jog if LBs are what you’re worried about. Regardless of your resolution, one of my favorite artists doesn’t need to make any tawdry resolutions or outlandish claims as he is merely doing what he does best: Ryan Adams. Adams has released (or technically, re-released) one of his tentative b-sides in lieu of the new Judd-Apatow movie, “This is 40”. The romantic coo, titled “Shining through the Dark”, is tender and full of respite from the adoration of a special someone. Amongst the muck of tedious and inane everyman rappers and cliché X-Factor contestants who offer up nothing if not for a story that Oprah Winfrey would ingratiate into her litany of false ego checks, there is a true troubadour in Ryan Adams-full of profundity, earthiness and just the right amount of verve.