“{Old Songs}It may take a second {of} focused listening before some listeners grasp just how good this is... one is likely to be surprised at the appearance of a young musician so comfortable and so in command of a particular approach shaped decades ago.”

“ Imagine him in a corner of your living room, singing “Alone,” his original that borrows a wee bit from “Dark Hollow”/”East Virginia Blues,” you and yours imbibing in whatever bitter brew available—and you make that connection: you haven’t lived the words, but you are familiar with the conviction—your life and an empty dram have way too much in common.”

““Like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie before him, Cross re-purposes the structures and themes of traditional songs to create highly resonant new ones.”

“Folk music at its best.”

“Brings a modern sensibility to songs that lie deep in our musical genes”

“You have well-crafted songs on this album and the pared back production results in a genuine live sound”

“Stark songs made by a songwriter who appreciates the craft, the recording process and the turn of a good phrase.”

“Blends the old blues traditions of Mississippi Fred McDowell and Son House with the folk traditions of Dave Van Ronk and Tom Rush. Give his CD a listen. You will be rewarded”

“Captures the spirit and methodology of the great tradition of troubadours, blues and old-time vocalists, songsters and folk singers. He uses musical and lyrical tropes that have been transmitted across generations to create new songs addressing contemporary issues”

“Echoes the great folk performers of the past while retaining his own voice and approach to songwriting ”

“He writes narrative songs he sings beautifully and wonderfully arranges, with traditional bluegrass instruments”

“{A Town Called Normal, is} a cut above the usual run of singer-songwriters, New Yorker Cross sets his material in traditional arrangements and to traditional-like melodies even as his lyrics express an observant modern sensibility. Good stuff, not the least of it is a happily restorative reading of the otherwise exhausted Cuckoo. Someone to watch, maybe.”

““ It certainly make me want to seek out the back catalogue.”

Odetta said he reminded her of the mountain music that shaped her own sound, and you can certainly hear Appalachia and bluegrass roots in numbers such as the very nasally Guthriesque banjo and mandolin led Cursed, Childish Things (which references Maya Angelou’s poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings), the yee haw feel of My Love and a folk blues interpretation of the traditional tune Cuckoo that exits on a breakdown flurry. On the other hand, both the infectious poppy bounce of Turn Your Eyes and, once the tempo picks up, Trouble Being There fit more comfortably into the contemporary newgrass scene.”

“The twelve track album is almost completely self-penned and proves to be a solid one.”

“{A Town Called Normal} ...he pulls back the curtain and reveals a lonely shell of a man, but if they made a drug that was this high, I’d never be sober. A stone cold winner.”

“…the songs sound like they could be Appalachian standards…except that they’re originals…lusciously intermingled layers of banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar.”

“...backed by Cross’s songwriting and powerful and unique vocal, it makes for a great listen and strengthens my belief that roots music is still alive and well in the Northeast.”

“Though Cross is not a household name, he should be.”

“...an excellent songwriter with a golden voice...”

“It seems Cross has the uncanny ability to sound like anyone he chooses, but, truly, Cross’ style is all his own.”