Like father, like son, you could say: A.J. Croce, scion of folk singer Jim Croce, has been a successful musician himself for 20 years, albeit at the interface of folk, rock and blues. The latest example of his artful blend is released today under the title Heart of the Eternal.

I got a Feeling. The opening song of the new album could also be a commentary on what follows: Fine folk rock here, solid blues rock there, a ballad as the icing on the cake at the end: Heart of the Eternal - in German Herz des Ewigen - is also a way of describing traditional musical concepts. And to promise.

A.L. Croce is not out for revolution. Rather a delicate evolution. A little twist here, a little mix there, that's more his approach. The opening song, for example, adds a vocal to the solid four-four rock groove, which is brushed raw by a megaphone or a distortionist.

There's plenty of fun in a glass with Hey Margarita, which rocks its way across a book scheme and is aimed at a woman rather than a cocktail. Although, of course, both can be sweet (even if this statement could cost five euros in the Chauvi coffers).

Turned Around is a slightly poppy rock number that also belongs on the classics shelf, in a different category of course. The Best You Can follows quietly, the lyrics an encouragement, the music appropriately categorised as a ballad. A small female choir fills the chorus of the southern rock track So Much Fun, whose name fulfils the corresponding promise.

However, the album cover is a little too clichéd: A.J. Croce with guitar at the microphone fulfils folk-blues-singer-song-rock expectations, but the man is a multi-instrumentalist with piano as his main instrument. This is also noticeable on the album, for example in the closing song The Finest Line, which Croce sings as a duet with Margo Price and accompanies with fine piano passages.

Fans of his music will only regret one thing: at 36 minutes and 4 seconds, the album is more of an EP - but why not just press ‘repeat’? (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

A.J. Croce