Cotton Jones is, in my humble opinion, a fantastic addition to lo-fi Americana, and, as a soundtrack for my favorite things – road trips, stargazing, sailboats, fireplaces, and bedrooms – a valuable commodity. Understated, drifting songs, all echo-y and narcotic and intimate; of a prior era. Worthy of a jukebox, but mysterious enough to elude many clichés. More importantly, it’s just straight addictive.

As a huge fan of 2009’s ‘Paranoid Cocoon’ (and the earlier ‘The River Strumming’), this year’s offering, ‘Tall Hours in the Glowstream’ is an interesting one. On one hand, the distinctiveness and consistency of their vibe suggests a guy that knows exactly what he’s doing. On the other, this album feels not entirely comfortable with the niche they’ve carved out for themselves, and they’re throwing a few new things against the wall to see what sticks. (Apparently, dropping the heavy-handed surname Basket Ride was step one).

The guy spends a peculiar amount of time in a higher octave than seems comfortable for him, and the gal is given a little added airtime (Matthew Nau and Whitney McGraw, respectively). They’ve also thickened their voices with some country heartache. Between the two, I think I smell a Patsy Cline phase.

More than that, they’ve replaced a formula – essentially just a Hammond organ and verby guitar – with a multi-instrument operation propped up by some electronic wash and a little studio treatment. Maybe not a JV to varsity move, because that would diminish the exceeding charm of their old stuff, but… they definitely have slicker uniforms. I’m down. If nothing else, they got someone nice behind the skins and tried harder.

I hear the Doors in one song, Mazzy Star in another, and in the boom-boom-pshhh intro to this haunter, something out of a Vietnam film…

Cotton Jones - Somehow to Keep it Going by virgil p colon