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• Eric Johnson

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Eric Johnson says he meant Spelled in Bones to be a "dark bummer record." But apparently, Eric Johnson just doesn't do "dark" and "bummer": The closing track of his third album with this revolving Chicago-spawned band is the unambiguously titled "Everyday That We Wake Up It's a Beautiful Day." Bones picks up where 2003's Mouthfuls left off, with heaps of lovely hooks and hand claps and acoustic guitars and gorgeous, multitracked harmonies. But where Mouthfuls steeped itself in love, sweet love, Bones is about the moment it all falls apart. Actually, it's about the moment before the moment, when pretty much anything can happen. Accidents, injuries, even earthquakes loom around every corner, but Johnson flips that into a love story, promising, "So I'll do my part not to break your heart, and baby please don't break mine." As he sings on the title track, "It's not etched in gold, or set in stone/ It's not written in the stars/ It's spelled in bones." Nothing's guaranteed in this life -- nothing's perfect. But Spelled in Bonesis pretty damn good.