Drunken Soundtracks: Lost Songs [Audio CD] WALKABOUTS

The Walkabouts' double CD Drunken Soundtracks is sub-titled "Lost Songs & Rarities 1995-2001". It's a title which could be interpreted as containing a certain deal of hubris, given that pretty much the entire catalogue of this absurdly underrated group could be described as "Lost". However, the failure of The Walkabouts to make any significant commerical headway is no fault of theirs. They write great songs, in a country noir style gloomily reminiscent of Tindersticks (with whom they have collaborated) or Mazzy Star, and have, in Carla Torgerson, one of the most listenable vocalists working. The fault lies entirely, as it so often does, with the record-buying public.

The songs on Drunken Soundtracks are arranged in reverse chronological order an unnecessarily fussy conceit which contributes nothing to any conception of the band's progress, or to the package as a whole. This extremely minor quibble aside, Drunken Soundtracks is a worthy addition to the canon of this exceptional group, either as an absorbing new album for the converted, or an introduction to the newcomer. --Andrew Mueller