Karma for Cheap is Aaron Lee Tasjan's third LP and second for his label New West Records, based in his current hometown of Nashville. The record was co-produced by ALT and Jeff Trott (Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair, Meiko, Joshua Radin) and Gregory Lattimer (Albert Hammond Jr.) and features Aaron Lee's road band – guitarist Brian Wright, bassist Tommy Scifres and drummer Seth Earnest – with whom he's been touring heavily for the last two years. While the stylistic shift from Tasjan's palpably stoned ‘70s-country-channeling 2015 debut, In the Blazes, to his more sophisticated, introspective and lushly produced 2016 follow-up, Silver Tears, was relatively incremental, Karma's rocked-up Brit-pop-influenced Beatles-Bowie-Badfinger vibes underscore a significant departure. The album boldly re-imagines these vintage sounds, pushing the boundary of what can be considered Americana. The roots of Tasjan's Karma for Cheap, stretch deep, drinking up the sounds of a Southern California childhood spent listening to The Beatles – back to the very first pre-teen year he picked up a six-string and started figuring out all the pretty little chords in those Lennon-McCartney tunes. Back to the pure, blissful unfiltered innocence of falling in love with music for the first time.
