Alex Esther's debut album The Neighbors Are Listening is an honestand successful offering of moving, heartfelt tunes, beautifully mixed with layered accompaniments by David Ybarra and Chester Drowers, that add an exotic and subtle sound that fits like a comfortable, wornpair of jeans. Each song is a vignette, like faded images in an atticcollection of photographic memories, that reflect upon deep feelingsof love, longing, and dreams that are still just beyond the horizon. Mr. Esther is a very talented singer songwriter with a long road ahead of him of creative exploration. His planet is definitely on the ascendancy in the San Diego music scene, and eventually to an even larger audience. It's just a matter of time. Some of the lyrics and phrasing on this offering remind me of earlier works by such artists as Peter Mulvey, Tom Brosseau, Evan Brubaker, and Eugene Ruffalo. There are many tunes on this CD for everyone's unique heartbeat, but the ones that especially resonate with me are Midnight Driver, for it's dark and moody angst, Hermit for its beautiful and complex overtones that send tingles down my spine, and the surprise bonus track Hype for splashing cold water on the way our live can rule our dreams, instead of our dreams controlling our lives, and how easy it is to get carried away by fantasy. This is an album worthy of your attention. My kudos to Alex for doing such a magnificent job on his first time out of the gate. -Joel Siegfried -President,SB Talent Associates,ecto@cox.net