by Nitsuh Abebe
Leave Home has more to do with the side of John Davis that worked with the Palace Brothers than the side that constitutes half of Folk Implosion -- the album's songs have the simple acoustic quality (and occasional patched-together percussion) of a Mountain Goats' release, but the songwriting lands in a more poetic and subtle vein. The result is an intimate and well-executed tour through the work of a very idiosyncratic songwriter. Somewhere within the stripped-down set-up of Davis' songs are shades of Sebadoh and even Neutral Milk Hotel, making for an album that overshoots the earnest simplicity that's expected of most singer/songwriters.