The One AM Radio

Fri., Sept. 7, 8 p.m., $10, with Montag and Lymbyc System, First Unitarian Church chapel, 22nd and Chestnut streets, 866-468-7619, www.r5productions.com.

by M.J. Fine

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rock/pop

There's no purist politics behind Hrishikesh Hirway's decisions to return to his boyhood drum kit and learn to play cello, just as there's no experimental dogma driving his drum machine and synths. It's all about using whatever's within reach to summon the thing that's just out of reach. Hirway recorded The One AM's third full-length in New England, California and Mumbai, all by his lonesome and with friends adding strings and horns. The vibe-first approach works for him, because This Too Will Pass (Dangerbird) flows exceptionally well. Gorgeous songs like "In the Time We've Got" and "The Echoing Airports" look back with empathy at a love doomed by geography and other realities. Go ahead and let your thoughts drift elsewhere; Hirway's patient voice and gentle lyrics will be there when you return. If nothing else, they suggest he's known disappointment and didn't let it crush him. Losing your partner doesn't have to mean losing yourself, at least not for good. Case in point: Original One AM Radio violinist Jane Yakowitz may be gone, but brothers-in-laptops Lymbyc System have Hirway's back on this tour. It may not be the same, but it's what he's got. Trust him.

Fri., Sept. 7, 8 p.m., $10, with Montag and Lymbyc System, First Unitarian Church chapel, 22nd and Chestnut streets, 866-468-7619, www.r5productions.com.