Listening to "In a Short Time" through headphones is an absolute must. I came close to dismissing "The Jim Walsh Band" as merely a slightly more talented "Hootie and the Blowfish," but a good listen to the stellar production job on this disc caused me to stop and rethink that assessment.

Funny thing, even after that reflection, I came to nearly the same conclusion -- there really isn't that much in particular to recommend about this outfit. Instead, at times, that "Hootie" comparison fits rather well, what with their penchant for sticking to simple, homespun rock hitting on mundane, well-worn topics. Walsh's voice doesn't especially stand out, the rhythm section of Paul Sebastian and Jill Wagner play it safe throughout the disc, and, although guitarists (lead) Steve Amend and (12-string) PJ Sebastian get a couple of cool solos to blow through, they don't really take a shot at anything particularly challenging.

As such, "The Jim Walsh Band" is a prime example of an outfit where the whole adds up to a lot more than the sum of the parts, and the same can be said of their, "In a Short Time" album. Taken alone, a couple of the songs are, frankly, pretty annoying. Listened to in the context of the rest of the album, even the bad ones tend to blend into the generally upbeat sound put together by this quintet.

While most of the tunes clock in between three and four minutes, the best ones sound like they play for longer than that. Maybe the production, which allows for some great instrument separation, is responsible for an illusion of "space," but on tracks like "When I Was," "Nobody's Hero," and the title track, the time between Amend's opening licks and the final fade of Paul Sebastian's cymbals seems to be a lot longer than what is listed on the back of the jewel case.

"The Jim Walsh Band," and "In a Short Time" might be pretty average overall (except for the production), but they do a decently compelling job of it.