Kevin Bronson on September 2nd, 2013

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Singer-songwriter Lissie Maurus, whom fans have come to embrace as Lissie, hails from the mythological home of the Blues Brothers, Rock Island, Ill. – which makes her probably the only resident of Ojai who can name all the Quad Cities.* Lissie’s 2010 debut “Catching a Tiger” was notable for what it wasn’t – overdone. Her open-hearted excursions into folk, pop and Laurel Canyon-esque rock showcased her bluesy, evocative vocals; it had the heartland-real feel of Sheryl Crow, another artist who grew up in a Mississippi River-adjacent town. Maurus’ sophomore album “Back to Forever” comes out Oct. 8, and the latest taste comes in the form of the Labor Day-appropriate “I Don’t Want to Go to Work,” which, despite its best intentions, manages to come off as charmless. In fact, considered with the other two songs available from the album, you might scratch your head and wonder what on earth they’re putting in the water in Ojai.

||| Download: “I Don’t Want to Go to Work” as KCRW’s song of the day.

||| Also: After the jump, watch the videos for “Further Away (Romance Police),” which was filmed in Rock Island, and “Shameless”:

Photo by Andrew Whitton

* There are actually five Quad Cities, and Bettendorf, Iowa, is the one even some Midwesterners forget.