Willoughby Sargent Records (2008) *** Willoughby knows how to set the tempo just right with album opener "Intentions." It's a beautifully written, down-tempo track with a waltzy guitar and piano part that brings to mind a little bit of the melancholy musings of Elliott Smith. His voice resembles that of the multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird, whose jazz and folk influences Willoughby's Gus Seyffert may share as well, and Seyffert's pop sensibilities share the same reverence for Beatles-influenced melodies as singer/composer Jon Brion. "Dust Bunnies" and "Losing You" gesture strongly  to the sad, dog-eagered ballads of Brion's work in the Punch-Drunk Love soundtrack. The latter track has that shell-shocked honky-tonk blues sound of Abbey Road, so much so that you'd think the songwriter's last name was Lennon, while "Wish I Was Yours" has the whistle-blowing, banjo, jazz drumming and lyrical wordplay you'd expect from an Andrew Bird song. "I Know What You're Up To" takes an upright bass and gentle hi-hat fill to soothe the melancholy of its sunken lyrics ("I don't need you to trust me / Just show me what you do / Put your drink on the table / Your lies are coming true"). The record takes a hazier, more spaced-out turn with "Sign" and its trip-hop turntablism and funky bassline. With down-tempo flair and jazz manouche cool, Willoughby crafts pleasant, emotive pop songs that are as good for barroom commiserating as they are for indulging in the blues. Seyffert's music imagines smoky saloons, weathered jazzmen and glasses of whiskey, the result of which formidably place him alongside talented songsmiths and melancholics like the late Elliott Smith. Extracting from Seyffert's lyrics, you can hope that he's not as down as he seems, although the music will have you half-hoping he maintains his commiserative streak. *** Willoughby plays the Fox Theatre with Band of Horses this August 29. Click here for ticket information. http://www.willoughbyrecordings.com/ http://www.myspace.com/willoughby