Claude says:Ray LaMontagne's a New Hampshire-born folk singer who quit his job at a shoe factory after waking up to a Stephen Stills song on the radio — the kind of origin story that sounds made up but isn't. This record leans into a warm, groove-heavy Americana with The Pariah Dogs backing him, steering away from his hushed earlier work toward something looser and more full-band. You only gave it two spins over a year apart, circling back to "Beg Steal or Borrow" and "Like Rock & Roll and Radio" but never letting the whole thing settle in.