Smog

It's appropriate that a musician who makes such a murky sound should adapt the name Smog as his nom de plume. Singer-songwriter Bill Callahan's penchant for spinning stark, world-weary ballads gives this River a languid flow, instilling a sense of quiet yearning and desperation that shifts only slightly from haunting (the spooky "In the Pines") to harrowing (the daunting and descriptive narrative "I'm New Here"). Callahan's low-key arrangements and parched sing-speak underscore his forlorn disposition; even the tentative attempt to perk things up via the rusty fiddle and spontaneous whoops of "Well" barely rises to the energy level of, say, Lou Reed or Nick Cave in their deepest doldrums.

Related Content

• Charles Manson, Slipknot, and Other Rock 'N' Roll Boogeymen That Aren't Actually Scary
  October 26, 2011
• Worth the Drive
  January 6, 2011
• CDs Are Dead! Crossfade's Five Fave Obsolete Music Formats
  November 1, 2011
• Top Ten Rock and Pop Stars Who Hate Digital Music Downloading
  November 3, 2011
• Trentemoller at Ultra Music Festival 2011 Day One, March 25, 2011
  March 26, 2011

More About

• Bill Callahan
• Nick Cave
• Lou Reed