fantasy spiked with satanic imagery; "Donner Party (All Night)" invokes the infamous Old West tragedy as a metaphor for a doomed relationship. On the closing acoustic ballad, "Blue in the Face," Skiba sounds like he's barely hanging on. "I haven't slept since I met you," he rasps. And with nightmares like he describes, who can blame him?
GRET KOT
(From RS 923, May 29, 2003)