I’m not really sure why it took so long for me to get around to this review. An automatic response to the stuff that usually comes across my desk perhaps?

I’ll admit up front that I’m predisposed to not liking the stuff that people send for me to review. I’m too young to be a curmudgeon, but a curmudgeon is what I am. Set in my ways. Not only do I not understand what kids today are listening to, but I have no intention of trying.

Honestly, I think my musical tastes stopped evolving sometime in the fall of 1988. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a decent disk when one comes my way.

And so it happened that a jewel case with Ari Hest’s debut release for Columbia found its way into my grasp. As with them all, I tossed it on the spindle, stacked a couple quarters on the stylus, and muttered something about newfangled contraptions after the screeching that came out of the speakers reminded me I should probably have put the record in my CD player instead.

The good news is, after I finished listening, the disk went into my “needs a second listen” pile.

Someone to Tell is a nicely paced assortment of songs that give ample evidence of Hest’s skill as musician, songwriter, and composer. Devoid of the needless gimmickry that so many artists use to try to set themselves apart, Hest instead relies completely on heartfelt vocals and solid musicianship to deliver on his excellent and effortlessly literate compositions.

"Anne Marie" stands out as a selection that gets it right, with a pained feeling conveyed by the sum of Hest’s artistry. I haven’t figured out if the song’s genesis was love, heartbreak, or a distant and quiet infatuation, but I doubt it matters much. However tortured Hest may have been in the writing, the listener is treated to the fruit of his emotion. Other cuts that cause Someone to Tell to rise above merely good to somewhere in the excellent strata are the sincere "Holding On," the amusing "Fascinate You," and the crisp "Consistency."

I suspect we’ll hear much more from Hest. He deserves to be heard.