Live Album
Drive-By Truckers
Live From Austin, TX
(New West)
***1/2
This set of previously unreleased live songs was recorded by Alabama alt-country storytellers the Drive-By Truckers for the TV show Austin City Limits. “They weave a little bit of punk into their rock sound,” says the show’s producer, “along with old-time country, pop, and R&B.” Wrong! Although these 13 crystal-clear tracks have a lot of variety, there is little “punk” in the Truckers sound. The first five tracks showcase the subdued, mellow side from the Truckers’ canon. Things heat up on tracks like “3 Dimes Down,” “Let There Be Rock,” and “Marry Me,” which sizzle with guitar riffs reminiscent of The Allman Brothers and, of course, Skynyrd. Fans of southern-fried live albums (heavy on the country, light on the rock) will eat this up like greasy chicken and Budweiser. Although this is their second live album (following 2000’s Alabama Ass-Whuppin’), this collection does an even better job of showcasing both sides of the Truckers at the top of their game.
KORTNEY JMAEFF

Alt-Country
Magnolia Electric Co.
Josephine
(Secretly Canadian)
***
At one time, Magnolia Electric Co. guitarist/vocalist Jason Molina and Will Oldham had the modern haunting-folk genre cornered. Didn’t It Rain, Molina’s stark and affecting album (recorded as Songs:Ohia) was patient, subtle, and moody, and was on par with anything released in the early ’00s. So it’s a shame that Molina has now slipped to the point of alt-country mediocrity. Not that Josephine is a bad album; it’s just floating in the middle of a fairly predictable genre. At this point, if you’re an alt-country artist, you have to do something a lot more daring than Josephine to seem interesting. Molina’s vulnerable vocals are still present, but now that they’re backing standard piano/organ, guitar and drums, they lack the impact that made his early work more personal and emotional. Josephine’s title track is merely passable at best, uninspired at worst. “Whip-Poor-Will” and “KnoXVIlle Girl” do the best job of recapturing Molina’s glory days, but they aren’t enough save the album. I guess musicians all have to change, and maybe I should accept that Molina has moved on. I just wished he hadn’t moved on to the middle.
MIKE DEANE

Singer/Songwriter
Cass McCombs
Catacombs
(Domino)
**1/2
“You’re not my dream girl/You’re not my reality girl/You’re my dreams-come-true girl.” Cass McCombs is pleased enough with that turn of phrase to make it the opening lyric on his new album Catacombs; to me, they seem like a distinction without a difference, but they’re set to such a pretty Everly Brothers-esque melody that I can’t get too exercised about how meaningless they are. (Plus, the guest vocal by actress Karen Black makes me think of the movie Nashville, and thoughts of Nashville always make me happy.) That same tug-of-war continues throughout the rest of the album: lots of pretty melodies always on the verge of being pulled into the mud pit by muddled, pretentious lyrics. “My Sister, My Spouse” feels like a weak Decemberists knockoff and “Don’t Vote” a failed attempt at Randy Newman-style satire. On the other hand, “The Executioner’s Song” (which has nothing to do with Gary Gilmore) and “Harmonia” are exquisitely simple songs about men making peace with violence and betrayal. Just beware: with McCombs, “simple” also means “two minutes longer than they need to be.”
PAUL MATWYCHUK

Indie Acoustic
Bowerbirds
Upper Air
(Dead Oceans)
**
Bowerbirds’ sophomore LP is placid, and a touch on the melancholy side. With straightforward melodies and a weeping accordion casting a pall on the jingle-jangle of the acoustic guitar strings, Upper Air offers very little to stimulate the ear or excite the heart. Phil Moore isn’t a particularly good vocalist, but that’s a forgivable fault if the song you’re singing has something to say and you say it with passion. Alas, Moore mostly sticks to his limp, daydreamy delivery, like he might wish on a shooting star but doesn’t believe it will help. He’s Eeyore with a missing tail. Now and then some piano notes drip in the background or a little xylophone bounces lightly in what seems like the distance, as on “Crooked Lust,” but most of these additions fail to establish a true presence in the song. On “This Day,” the efforts to sound earnest reduce the “tune” to a guitar strum every breath or so. It’s painfully slow, nearly motionless. Calm air can still be stirred into a vicious storm or a devastating tornado — on Upper Air, Bowerbirds can’t even whip up a cool breeze.
KATHLEEN BELL

Old Wine, New Bottle
Ray Davies with The Crouch End Festival Chorus
The Kinks Choral Collection
(Decca/Universal)
**
Ray Davies, the great sentimentalism of British rock, once again revisits his 45 years of back catalogue. Davies’ songbook has withstood decades of remakes, reinterpretations, and covers, and while this self-produced choral revision isn’t a disaster, it doesn’t add much that’s new either. The addition of the choir suits some tracks quite nicely, adding ethereal mood and space to already dreamy Davies’ compositions such as “Waterloo Sunset” and “Shangri-La.” On others, however, the mix is forced and awkward — the killer Kinks klassics “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” just don’t work. Unfortunately, the most glaring weakness in this rock/choral fusion is that Davies’ band doesn’t bring the rock and is often so laid-back as to enter lullaby territory. The rawness that is essential to and defines The Kinks is replaced with the lethargic safety and security of Enya. Sad to say, this one’s for the mellow of heart only.
RICH BOMBER