There’s a sunny, gentle sweetness and an air of sincerity in Trevor Beld-Jimenez’s voice that makes the melodies he crafts under the name Tall Tales & the Silver Lining feel even more open and optimistic than the lyrics would indicate on his third album, The Understanding. Beld-Jimenez rivals Jonathan Richman on the wide-eyed guilelessness scale, though his performance style is considerably more artful and he doesn’t force a sense of naïvete on the material; musically, this material sits somewhere between classic folk-rock and subdued sunshine pop, even if the tone never feels retro or nostalgic, and the mood is upbeat and enthusiastic without pushing the accelerator past an easy-going midtempo. Trevor has a valuable partner in Tania Beld-Jimenez, whose backing vocals and occasional harmonies dovetail nicely with his polite tenor, and a team of 14 musicians helps them bring these tunes to life, though despite the size of the ensemble, the results are spacious and uncluttered. The Understanding is so well-made and so open and amiable that one feels like a curmudgeon for finding fault, but though the melodies are likable, and the execution is precise yet natural, the album isn’t especially memorable; none of the 15 songs (which sail by in less than 38 minutes) really stick in the ear once the album draws to a close, and even after listening to it three or four times, you’re still at a loss to remember much about the individual selections and what they have to say. The Understanding is an album that tries very hard to be good, but it would have helped more if Beld-Jimenez had given the material a bit more drama. – Mark Deming
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