On this fascinating CD, recorded almost entirely in his home studio, Dylan Connor sings about some of the important events and issues of our times, interspersing the original songs with the sounds of his everyday life as a schoolteacher and parent. (If you’ve forgotten what children’s toys sound like, this will take you back.) The title track that opens the record references current events from Wall Street to the country’s many storm-ravaged communities with a refrain suggesting how very far we are from true civilization. The weight of that message segues into “Lynchburg Lemonade,” a groovy little rocker of a love song that offers a bright future and charmingly rhymes “take you to the prom” with “make you a mom.” The mood shifts again with “Eric Spread Out,” a dreamy ode to a fellow musician, and the beautifully simple reverie “Pacific Coast Ghosts.” The closer, “(I Can’t Get) High Anymore,” is a sensitive meditation on addiction versus the straight life. But perhaps the most moving song in this fine collection is the bonus track, “Feza Feza,” which translates as “Help Help” from the language of his wife’s Syrian homeland.  Connor wrote the song to document the suffering of the young rebels in that country and is donating the proceeds from all online downloads of the song to relief efforts. A video of the song’s performance was recorded at a benefit concert at The Living Room in New York City and can be viewed through Connor’s website. 

-Kay Cordtz