Jennings is no Willy, Mason that is. The singer-songwriter oeuvre is rarely all that esoteric and fine though the proponents it offers up and celebrates every year or two may be, you tend to get the idea very quickly. A ripple in the flavouring and a couple of memorable choruses is really the best you can hope for and all they often aspire to. But Jennings, already well established in the US over 10 years of working his way up from one-man-and-a-guitar-in-a-van independence to major label alliance through Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, unveils ‘In The Ever’ to the UK with thick roots already set down and many distinct branches of style and ability fertile and richly hued. ‘Never Knew Your Name’ opens the record with the kind of languid, liberal barroom perkiness that Conor Oberst is aiming for with his current solo excursion, easily achieving the impression of being a seasoned veteran in the discipline even if his lyrics stay safe. There’s also a degree of lavish soft-focus that reminds of Ed Harcourt’s lounge country, carried on through the Lennon-esque piano ballad ‘Something About Your Love’. The opening triptych is completed by the eccentric, hippie-T-Rex, Devendra Banhart-esque ‘I Love You & Buddha Too’, setting your impression up well for an album that doesn’t ever really confound your expectations but neither does it suggest he’s parked up badly in the short stay. Van-Morrison-singalong ‘Fighter Girl’ and the quick-lipped ‘Sassafrass’ are highlights.