Wistful, sweet, melancholy yet deceptively upbeat, Nick Ferrio comes out of the gate strong with Night Garden, peppered with slide guitar and his soon-to-be-signature smooth country warble. Always Searching finds the troubadour in pensive territory, while Ferrio teases at the country Bob Dylan of Nashville Skyline on The Trial of Mary Harshbarger, in both vocal delivery and story style. Closer When We Sang Together is sparse and campfire ready, a lullaby for the 20-somethings. This member of Baby Eagle & The Proud Mothers/The Burning Hell likely has a strong solo career ahead of him, as this is a voice that has clearly been itching to be heard. While both of those bands deliver smart, beautiful and at times challenging music, Ferrio’s songs share many qualities but because they’re country, they’ll always stand on their own.