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Paste Records has offered a guarantee with Waiting, the new disc by Doug Hoekstra:  Listen to the CD five times.  If you don't like what you hear, they will give you your money back. Suffice it to say, I won't be collecting on that offer any time soon.

Hoekstra is a low fi, understated singer/songwriter that is almost a one man band on this disc.  Other than bass, backup vocals, and some programming, he is responsible for all of the words and music on the project. At times, an artist brings in others because he will not trust his own instincts.  Doug Hoekstra, on the other hand, trusts himself here, and the result is a beautiful thing.

"Blow Beautiful Dreams" is a stark, stripped-down story of one man's introspection on Christmas morning.   "Sunday Blues" paints a picture of father and son, going to church but not really hearing, treating it as a needed ritual, but able to put on their selves when they return home. The vocals here remind one of Lou Reed, and the fact that the protagonist is named Thomas certainly points to the doubts we all experience:

As Thomas grew older, he began to get the joke
The richest of the rich can still be broke
Words that flow like a wound that bleeds
Or a dog that barks up an empty tree

Bleak at times, joyous at others, The Waiting should appeal to fans of Beck, Lou Reed, and the singer/songwriter genre in general.  Another example of a fine artist toiling in obscurity.

Brian A. Smith 10/22/2003