Album Notes

"Two Lane Heartache Waltz" is the first full-length studio album from Ohio singer/songwriter Scott Stein. Recorded in various rooms of an old north Columbus house with cables running from the basement to the top floor, a Hammond organ, old pianos and the occasional makeshift mic stand, the album captures these settings which allow for a record that is loose and live-feeling with ragged emotions and edges exposed, and yet is somehow refined. While first-time listeners have compared Scott's energetic live performances to those of Ben Folds or Billy Joel, a closer listen will uncover the influence of such diverse artists as Paul Westerberg, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, John Hiatt, Ray Charles, and Tom Waits.

Anchored by the crack rhythm section of his touring band (Chad Greenwald - bass, Brian Linville - drums), Scott takes on multiple tasks by playing all of the piano, organ, and guitar parts himself, not to mention writing string and vocal arrangements for the new disc. While the album's songs - including 4 tunes from the 2005 "Live at the 5th Ave. Coffee Shop" release - focus primarily on the topic of broken relationships and disappointments, the album is anything but monotone, incorporating many different emotions which are bolstered by the diverse musical palette from which Stein operates. The previously released "Indian Summer Song" gets a Revolver-era Beatles treatment; "Wait For You" sounds like a Jayhawks outtake; "Lydia" takes the back-roads through an Allman Brothers-esque country shuffle; and "Some Kinda Something" gets dirtied up as a rocking piano boogie. There may indeed be something for every kind of pop music fan on this album.