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It would be a shame if people let the "Americana" tag scare them away from this low-key charmer. In fact, the package art, a bit of fiddle—even one of the song titles—suggests a label even further removed from the indie rock crowd (or mainstream country fans, for that matter): "old timey." For too many that phrase is restricted to white-bearded geezers with banjo in one hand and skillet in the other. But there's a spirit of music made for sheer joy in Lonely Road Revival that could've come straight out of The Bristol Sessions.
That these Bay Area boys are young enough for Uncle Dave Macon to be their great, great, great grandpappy is clear from the scruffy energy coursing through most of this album. A ripping guitar solo punctuates "In The Wake Of It All" and the six-string bursts illuminating "Alemany Wildlife Refuge" bring to mind a latter-day Husker Du. While there's an early '80s cow-punk feel to much of the proceedings, there are also enough quirks to keep things interesting. A winsome uptick in the singer's voice as he's "dyin' here" in "Christmas Time Blues." High little riffs in "Your Sisters And Your Sisters Friends" and the fine "In & Out Of Love." And those forlorn "Ventura Highway"-style harmonies that crop up in "Wine Stains." Old weird America, indeed.
Sure, the instrumental and vocal performances are more sturdy than spectacular, and the songwriting on these 11 selections (actually 12, but unless you squint hard at the smudgy handwritten liners, you'll never know there's a bonus video), while more than serviceable, probably won't give Robbie Robertson or Paul Westerberg any sleepless nights. But for its many simple pleasures, this is an album that can rest comfortably—if humbly—between prime-era Band and Replacements records.
I don't listen to nearly as many new releases as most of the pundits proffering year-end best-of lists, but even if I did, this irresistible CD would surely make my Top Ten for 2006.
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