Jim White is a genuine anomaly. Born in the South, White fills his songs with the quirky characters and vignettes of Dixie backwater towns, yet his music is an unclassifiable melange of woodsy picking, ghostly electronics, lush pop lyricism and even understated hip-hop. It seems like an odd mix, but it produces often-sublime results on White’s latest and best album. “Static on the Radio” begins with a softly insistent R&B groove that White progressively layers with soulful guitar picking, sobbing pedal steel lines, a string section and bell-toned keyboards, which all coalesce into an irresistibly silky, hook-y chorus that vividly captures the wistful mood of long, late-night drives. On “Bluebird,” White mingles folky guitar picking and spooky, atmospheric samples to skillfully evoke a sad, rainy day yearning, while “Buzzards of Love” deftly shifts from verses strung with sparkling, free-flowing piano and electric guitar colors into a sleekly pulsing, horn-fueled chorus.
