Lost in America

1	Gramercy Park Hotel 4:14
2	The Kiss 3:54
3	Welcome to Struggleville 4:25
4	Truly Believe 4:11
5	Lost in America 3:19
6	My Mystery 3:54
7	Black and Blue 3:21
8	Bitter and Twisted 3:37
9	Losing Tonight 4:55
10	Babylon 3:24

Barnes & Noble

This southern string-slinger has gone through a number of mutations over the years, from old-school roadhouse rocker to Diane Warren-dependent pop purveyor. Since abandoning the latter stance in the late '90s, McCain has settled into his own skin quite well. Lost in America finds him well ensconced in his comfort zone -- a niche where he and his band can play both nice 'n' easy and nice 'n' rough. The latter approach is particularly well represented here, in hardscrabble rockers like "Welcome to Struggleville," which underscores its tales of heartland hardships with guitar lines that sear like hot pokers. There's a similarly wizened tone to "Gramercy Park Hotel," a burnished, organ-laced kiss-off to those who inhabit the corner offices in the business for which McCain works in the trenches. Throughout the disc, McCain beseeches listeners to join in battle against the creeping malaise he sees all around him -- sometimes with wry humor, as on the title track, which finds him taking on the character of a post-millennial snake-oil salesman, and sometimes with white-knuckled passion, as on the soaring "Bitter and Twisted." Like kindred spirit John Mellencamp, McCain never crosses the line into preaching, though, so Lost in America never feels like a dissertation -- just a rock album that aims for the head as well as the heart. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Edwin McCain's seventh studio effort, Lost in America, features more of the heartfelt, adult contemporary rock he's become known for. Falling somewhere between the classicist melodic pop of Matthew Sweet and the more contemporary songcraft of Train, McCain has a knack for mixing melodies and lyrics that hark back as much to the workman-like aesthetic of '60s Brill Building pop as it does to '70s singer/songwriters. While nothing on Lost in America stands out as much as his biggest hit, "I'll Be," off his 1999 album Messenger, fans of that song should find much to like here. Notably, such jangly, evocative, and emotionally resonate tunes as "The Kiss," "My Mystery," and "Losing Tonight" are immediately likeable. Matt Collar