Early Year
Collected here as a double-CD set, this Northampton, Massachusetts, band's first two independent releases (Pine BoxandDance the Night Away) testify to the power of sparseness, subtlety, and song craft. Like contemporaries Wilco, Son Volt, and Palace, they come to country via rock & roll, intertwining the styles in their own distinct way. The 27-song set (including a few brilliantly chosen covers) fuses pop sensibilities with lazy strumming, mandolin, pedal-steel, and a 2 a.m. smoke- and whiskey-soaked haze. The sound is understated, fitting for a band that played live perched on barstools, huddled around an old Tiffany lamp. By turns hauntingly bittersweet and foot-tappingly catchy, this collection is as warm as an old quilt, with just as much character.--Donovan Finn