Cowboy Junkies: Sing In My Meadow – The Nomad Series, Volume 3
Over the last 18 months, Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies has released 3 volumes of their Nomad Series. The third installation is the recently released Sing In My Meadows.
The first volume in the Nomad Series was Renmin Park. An album built on found loops, it was seen as a fairly experimental album for the group. They followed that up with Demons which was comprised solely of Vic Chesnutt covers as a tribute to the late singer/songwriter. Volume three does not quite have as an obvious of a goal as the previous two albums.
Sing in My Meadows, instead, seems like a throwback to the band’s early 90s heyday. The sound weaves grunge stylings into the bands alt-country ways creating a sound that is more befitting of an album called Demons than one called Sing In My Meadows.
The album opens with complex drums under a fuzzed out bass line on “Continental Drift.” When Margo Timmins vocals finally hit, it finds her sounds like Jewel giving her best Joan Jett impression. There is a lot of swagger there which is something that had been lost on the past two Nomad series entries.
The track is followed by the sludgy “Its Heavy Down Here” which sounds like a tame version of Melvins. “Late Night Radio” has all the bluesy classic rock overtones of a Lez Zeppelin track.
My only complaint with the album is the length. At only 8 songs, Sing In My Meadows is by far the shortest of the Nomad series volumes yet. Of course, there is something to be said for concision; Sing In My Meadows is probably the best album Cowboy Junkies have released in a decade.
Rating: 7.8/10
MP3: Cowboy Junkies “Continental Drift”
Buy: iTunes
Cowboy Junkies: Sing In My Meadows – The Nomad Series, Volume 3
