His album artwork looks like an accident and his name sounds like he should be running a Chevrolet dealership in Hogeye, Arkansas, but Bill Purdy is actually a damn fine singer/songwriter – as evidenced by his debut EP, the five-song, self-released Move My Way. He bills himself as “Jack Johnson meets Dr. John,” and that falls within spitting distance of the truth, but if these tracks are a reliable indicator, Purdy has a lot more in common with rootsy troubadours like Martin Sexton. The EP offers a seamless blend of soulful ballads and breezy up-tempo numbers, all of them anchored by Purdy’s keys – he plays piano, Wurlitzer, and B-3 here – and sandpaper-coated-in-honey vocals. The songs are catchy, a little bit funky, and as warm as a Memphis night in July. If anything, Purdy could stand to scuff up the edges of his sound a bit more – his press kit tries to lump him in with artists like Johnson and John Mayer, and it’s easy to see him heading that direction, but no matter how strong the pull of the middle of the road might be, Purdy’s career will be much more interesting if he keeps hanging out in the weeds. Get busy with that full-length follow-up, please. (Bill Purdy 2008)
