As fortuitous breaks go, AJ Edwards received a pretty major one when producer Aaron Johnson, best known for his work for piano-pop purveyors The Fray, agreed to take the Boston-born songwriter into a Hollywood studio to hammer out a few songs. Alongside engineer Warren Huart (Augustana, Howie Day) and a handpicked band of players (including veteran guitarist Tim Pierce), Edwards and Johnson recorded tracks that have become the nucleus of the new five-song EP Where The Rain Ricochets, released independently this past May and now set for a full national release September 23. Opening track (and free DC download) "I Love It All" sets the bar high from the very first moments, a glorious melody swaddled in luxurious layers of chiming guitars and a bass line that sound like it's emanating from somewhere deep in your chest. Where the Rain Ricochet's doesn't boldly reinvent as much as it does refine the happily mainstream pop/rock playbook on display, the result of a promising songwriter, a skilled producer and what's turned out to be a serendipitous collaboration. Full EP stream at Bandcamp