Ears Wide Open: Bootstraps

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bootstraps

Singer-songwriter Jordan Beckett is a craftsman whose folk-pop has a filmic quality, a trait that has served the Portland, Ore., native well. Beckett, doing business under the name Bootstraps, got his break when actor/director Sam Jaeger asked him to write songs for the 2011 movie “Take Me Home;” besides the half-dozen tunes in that film, Bootstraps’ songs have found their way onto television shows such as “No Ordinary Family,” “Private Practice,”  “Betrayal” and “Parenthood,” among others. Bootstraps’ self-titled album, featuring production work from Skip Saylor and Richard Dodd, was originally self-released, but it was pulled back after the band signed to Harvest Records, which now will release it Feb. 18. The evocative collection recalls a more world-weary Ray LaMontagne; in fleshing out his tunes, Beckett recruited the talents of two old college buddies familiar to followers of the L.A. scene, David Quon and Nathan Warkentin of We Barbarians. And ex-Cold War Kids drummer Matt Aveiro has now joined Bootstraps’ live band. The expansive single “Sleeping Giant” has some My Morning Jacket ambitions, so adjust your volume accordingly.

||| Stream: “Sleeping Giant”

||| Live: Bootstraps plays tonight at the Hotel Café.