Bob Schneider

Bob Schneider

You're never quite sure which of Bob Schneider's many stage personas you'll get with each new disc. One thing's for certain, though: He'll draw broadly from tested singer-songwriter forms without adding much distinction to them. When the Sun Breaks Down on the Moon finds the local cottage industry in total solo mode: Schneider is credited with writing, performing, recording, mixing, mastering, and producing yet with typically mixed results. While he's toyed with Tom Waits touches in the past, here that persona appears in full bloom, with the odd syncopation and backstreet moods of dark blues "Long Way Down" and the steel-drum mambo "Slower Dear." Most puzzling is "Fist City," a funereal dirge with angry lyrics that the author probably intended as a joke. Ultimately, When the Sun plays like a collection of demos that shouldn't be judged too harshly, even though it continues Schneider's streak of underwhelming us with his talents.