Jason Falkner

Even if Jason Falkner had never made the standout solo albums Presents Author Unknown and Can You Still Feel?, he’d already have earned a place in pop music heaven after playing with The Three O’ Clock, The Grays and Jellyfish, the latter of which he was wise enough to flee before it veered too far into camp excess. Falkner still insists on playing all the instruments himself, which means a new album is still a while away, but in the meantime he offers starving fans a collection of four-track demos (plus one sixteen-track bonus), many of which appear on his solo discs in their fully produced glory.

Calling this newly released but in-the-can-for-some-time disc Necessity might overstate its importance to casual listeners, but for eager pophounds, it’s merely a statement of fact. Falkner plays every note, but the multi-instrumentalist’s most impressive talent is his songwriting, the strength of which is especially apparent in this lo-fi setting. The coffeehouse set might find these low-key versions of Falkner songs more appealing than their noisier descendents, but future fans getting a first lesson in Falkner would be wise to warm up with the highly caffeinated originals.