5.0 out of 5 stars
Jangly country rock, August 31, 2005
This review is from: Mosquito Spiral (Audio CD)
The Volebeats like to do it their own way. They have the capability of disillusioning fans and members of their own band because of their lack of touring. This does not change the fact that they have some of the best "alt.country" albums out there. This album comes after their seminal "Sky and the Ocean" release which is quite simply one of the top 5 country rock albums to come out in the last 10 years. Mosquito Spiral equals it, but moves to a more poppy sound. There are still some straight up country-folk (maybe even minus the folk) ballads on this album, but a certain jangle (w/ a 70s AM psychedelic pop like their side project Outrageous Cherry) accompanies most of the county-tinged songs. I have yet to meet a person who has not been moved by the Volebeats. Mosquito Spiral and Sky and Ocean are where to start. Simply amazing vocals, unique laid back spacey country music, decent lyrics, and an ability to take over musical ghosts of the past. Check out their covers on various albums, especially from Country Favorites (including a simply breathtaking ABBA cover of Knowing Me Knowing You). This band started before Uncle Tupelo and deserves the fanfare that band received. Simply put: their lack of touring is what has dampened their popularity (though I guess bigwig Ryan Adams recently called them the best f+cking band in America, or something like that).
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