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Caterer was the unmistakable voice behind the Smoking Popes, and his post-Popes career has taken many interesting turns, something reflected in this collection of croony standards and revisited songs from his previous band.
If the name didn’t give it away, this is suitable for slow-dancing cowboys, at least as they exist in our imagination. The crooning voice floats lithely over western swing and doo-wop influences to make you either start or stop howling at the moon.
Years from now, the early 2020s will timestamp short albums recorded and released during isolation the way protest songs on the pop charts mark the late ‘60s. This one would be near the top of the heap, intimate yet meticulous.
Thile (THEE-lee) is a world-class mandolinist who also happens to have replaced Garrison Keillor as the host of that Wobegon show. Subtle and introspective.
Like the whoomp from pouring too much firestarter on and throwing the match in, this band is in your face, exciting and a bit scary at the same time, with its snarling guitars, sneering vocals, and the heft of every possible item in the garage.
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