Red Apple Falls
After the success of his previous album,The Doctor Came At Dawn, Bill Callahan (who is Smog) joined forces with some of Chicago's and label Drag City's finest musicians to craft this album over a few days. The band atmosphere frees up Callahan's singing and the songs which verge into country music (in terms of what country once was and not what it presently is) seem far more open than previous efforts. The symbolism of the color red is a bit overdone ("Blood Red Bird," "Red Apples," and "Red Apple Falls") and an undercurrent of overseriousness threaten to defeat the album's relaxed nature. ("Ex-Con" loosens things considerably). The simple beauty of much of what's here is quite astonishing at times.--Rob O'Connor