Sept/Oct 2007 Properganda Stephen Simmons | Something In Between   First coming to our attention with the raw and passionate Drink Ring Jesus, that pitched Simmons's sad-eyed-folky drawl against minimal guitar and harmonica, this year's model comes bathed in layers of sound.  His voice is still affecting, but the band setting gives him the chance to develop melodic ideas to underpin his bar room philosophy.   He carries the weight of a good church upbringing that hasn't quite stood the tests of adult life with the questions and hypocrisies that crop up all too often.  Struggles to stay honest, to stay on the good side and maintain dignity spill out through aching ballads like Long Road and Blues On A Sunny Day, but defiance also bristles through stompers like New Scratches.   Guitarist Richard McLaurin also produces, setting a tone somewhere between Steve Earl, Jackson Browne and Ryan Adams.  You get the sense that the songs will stand a solo reading as well and the closer All The Time I've Got especially hints at that. – SC