(Acony)His second solo jaunt out of the shadow of creative partner Gillian Welch finds Dave Rawlings in some unexpected moods. Laconic and roguish we expect,but the tedious narratives at the heart of Nashville Obsolete carry a bitter taste. Pilgrim comes with the kind of sneer Dylan served up on Like a Rolling Stone and The Trip is a world-weary, 11-minute meander (“What’s a bullet gap or two between friends?”). Rawlings’s reedy vocals sprawl but bite, and Welch is on hand to supply harmonies and the pair brighten up for the throwaway sweet and Last Pharaoh. The playing is,predictably, classy, or but mostly it’s an album of surprises; it’s Dave’s porch and he’ll play what he chooses.
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Source: theguardian.com