1. Intro/The Border
2. Moving Back Home
3. $87 And A Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse The Longer I Go
4. I Fell Into Painting Houses In Phoenix, Arizona
5. El Tiradito
6. A Ghost I Became
7. Westward Ho
8. St. Ides, Parked Cars, And Other People’s Homes
9. The Kid From Belmont Street
10. Capsized
11. Ballad Of Dan Fanta
12. The Disappearance Of Ray Norton
13. Four Walls
14. Lost In This World
Total time: 43:31
|
Thirteen Cities
Richmond Fontaine
El Cortez/Union
Richmond Fontaine is not a person but a Portland, Ore., alt-country quartet, named after someone who rescued the group’s bass player and traveling companion when his car broke down in the middle of nowhere on a road trip to Mexico.
The band’s leader, Willy Vlautin, likes to write dark song-tales about drifters. “Thirteen Cities” is about such a person wandering aimlessly across the West over a period of years, and probably is somewhat autobiographical.
For their seventh studio album, the group traveled to Tucson and employed the local talents of members of Calexico and Giant Sand, giving it that true desert twang/spaghetti Western sound.
With longtime contributor and multi-instrumentalist Paul Brainard and his pedal steel again on board, it’s as if John Steinbeck made a concept album and used the Friends of Dean Martinez as his backup band. RF’s sound is seriously expanded, and it suits their cinematic style well, taking it from full frame to widescreen.
Highlights include “Moving Back Home #2,” with its Texicali Horns-style brass; the beautifully surreal instrumentals “El Tiradito” and “The Ballad of Dan Fanta”; the not exactly anti-motel-life “Westward Ho”; and “Capsized,” a sad ditty whose protagonist has no self-worth whatsoever and wants to punish himself the rest of his life for letting others down.
external links
artist’s link
amazon.com
|
