The Associated Press

The bright promise of singer-songwriter Matthew Fowler’s new album “The Grief We Gave Our Mother” combines clean, crisp guitar playing with Fowler’s warm, wistful tenor and tight background harmonies.

Likened to singer-songwriters Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice, Fowler belongs in their company in more ways than one. His themes revolve around personal growth and regret, and while the album occasionally veers toward ponderous self-absorption — another tendency he shares with LaMontagne and Rice — the singing and playing are usually polished enough to power Fowler through the cloying parts.

On “Rooftops,” an optimistic song about his career hopes, Fowler applies the achy aura that permeates the entire album to his ambition.

“So I long for the Knoxville skyline, I long for cold beers and close friends,” he sings. “And I long for the sound of my words on the lips of those I have not met yet.”

The yearning gives the song its motor. The singing and playing, here and throughout this album, is promising enough that he just might get his wish.

— The Associated Press