Also, considering we will be covering Two Cow Garage’s new album next week, I think it is a fitting entry to do an overview of this album. For those who don’t know, Sweeney is the bassist/vocalist of Two Cow Garage and one of the two main songwriters for the band with the other being guitarist/vocalist Micah Schnabel.

The Finding Time is pure, stripped-down and honest. Opening track, Legion, sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom with a single mic. The reverb in the room is strong, but the message shines through. This is about as strong of a social awareness song as I’ve heard in recent years.

Starting off like a letter to his son, Legion lays to rest the fairy tales we use to cope and lights a way for a better life through real life action. The song sets the pace and a reprise at the end of the album gives everything a nice surrounding narrative.

The album’s stripped-down sound seems to be another layer of the message within. The lyrics are all Sweeney stripping down his life and feelings for the listener. From loneliness on the road (The Motel Song) to arguing against doubts in When I Feel Empty, which contains my favorite line in the album, “Well, if you feel so empty, what good could that say about me?”, to putting a defensive against religion with Promised Land Blues, Sweeney covers most aspects of his life and viewpoints.

With When the Stage Lights Go Dim, Schnabel created a stripped down approach to his songwriting that beared quite a bit of his soul without the noisy, rock-n-roll goodness that Two Cow Garage brings and now with Sweeney doing the same with The Finding Time, we get to see the inner-workings of these two fine songwriters. Pick up a $5 download of the album here and enjoy the tunes as you get your weekend rolling.