Dig it – Connor Christian & Southern Gothic

posted by Steve Uhles

My desk is a perpetual avalanche hazard. The problem’s causes are two-fold. The primary reason, admittedly, is my own free-wheeling approach to organization. The second is CDs. I receive a lot of CDs in the mail. Some are bad and most, sadly, are forgettable. It’s odd, but I prefer bad to uninspired. There are a few, however, that are good. The best are the ones that are unexpected, that come from artists I am either unfamiliar with or expect little from. In the past, time and space have forced me from sharing some of these discoveries. My bad. From now on, I vow to try and post them here. I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, so we’ll call it a promise to myself that just happens to have been made in early January. Here’s the first.

Connor Christian and Southern Gothic – 90 Proof Lullabies

A regional act that recently retired from the profitable-but-painful Wild Wings circuit, this Americana rock outfit combines the best of the Band with alt-country cool that recalls the late, great Uncle Tupelo. The best tracks are the sweet ballads and mid-tempo ruminations, as the rockier the band gets, the more it sounds like the Black Crows –driving but derivative. Still, there’s much to recommend here and I, for one, dig it.