Old Canes
(Saddle Creek)
As indie folklore-building exercises go, a dude from the Appleseed Cast having laid down all the drum tracks to his side gig's latest album over the course of the first snowy days of consecutive winters isn't necessarily up there with Bon Iver stuck in a cabin for three months of soul-searching alienation. It's drums, you know? They're just not that romantic.
As it turns out, though, this album doesn't need much in the way of a back story anyway, getting by on the strength of the musical vision and/or an enthusiasm rarely heard in folk-based indie. In a lot of cases, yes, the drums do play a major role in that equation, from the caffeinated train beat of "Little Bird Courage" (a track that also makes the most of mariachi horns and toy piano) to a somewhat less enthusiastic variation on that same beat in a song called "Trust." But there's an urgency that goes beyond the drumming. "Rockin' in the Free World" knockoff/improvement "Flower Faces" is damn near finished by the time the drums assert themselves. At first, it's just Chris Crisci power-strumming to accompany his melancholy tale of yet another setting sun, gradually introducing other elements as the song gets more intense. And the final ballad, "Southern Radio," is just vocals, acoustic guitar and the faintest jingle-jangle of a tambourine.
Standout Tracks: "Little Bird Courage," "Flower Faces." A. WATT
