A journeyman sideman at 28, Wilber has strummed for Carrie Newcomer, Hal Ketchum, John Prine, and others. He springs from the same fertile Indiana heartland that gave us Lisa Germano and John Mellencamp. His lyrics speak a mature wisdom beyond his years and his arrangements have a sagely and effective roots pop simplicity. At times, Wilber bears the mark of a heartland Ray Davies (“Pick Up Your Heart”) and at others he writes like Paul Simon (“Evelyn”). Rockers and ballads flow smoothly from one to the other in this big album, full of promise, with a small-town, comfortably Americana sound. – Tom Schulte