Another Fine Day

Forget whatever you know about this alt.country supergroup. Some of the names have stayed the same, but the sound and approach have clearly changed. This is not a drunken pick me up. This is not a modest, unsettled collection of roots rockers. No, this is a smattering of influences, ranging from the obvious C&W roots (“You Make it Easy”), to a near Curtis Mayfield soul dip (the title track), a Neil Young weeper (“Long Time Ago”), a nod at ‘70s New Wave (“Corvette”) and an elongated sonic experiment (“Beautiful Mind”), all within the first six tunes. No knock-offs, each track is carefully crafted to bring out the best. Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy appears on less than half the tracks here, while ex-Jayhawks Gary Louris and Marc Perlman and Run Westy Run singer Kraig Johnson shoulder most of the songwriting and performing burden. No surprise then that this collection most resembles the Jayhawks’ more exploratory pop work (1997’s Sound of Lies, 2000’s Smile). At 15 tracks, things run a tad long, but there’s enough to mix and match to sculpt whatever vision you wish to follow.