WHISKEYTOWN Records and CDs

Already having generated a strong buzz in the Alt Country underground with their initial full-length release Faithless Street in 1995, Tobacco Road's Whiskeytown attained critical mass -- in the classic sense of the term -- two years later with their signature statement to date, Strangers Almanac. The record showcased a number of stylistic sides of the band, each staggeringly portrayed in a variety of songs: the Replacements-in-a-barn electricity of "Yesterday's News," the tear-soaked, pedal steel ennui of "Dancing With the Women at the Bar," the updated Stax soul of "Everything I Do" and the weary-eyed Crazy Horse stomp of "Losering." Bandleader Ryan Adams has the chance to become the premier songwriter of his generation if he doesn't self-destruct first, while violinist/vocalist Caitlin Cary provides sensitive counterpoint to Adams' frayed vocals and twisting guitar lines. Noted for their wildly inconsistent live performances and their rare ability to proffer rousing, near-Punk causticity alongside back-porch country shit-kickers without batting an ear, Whiskeytown toss stones into the stagnant Alt Country waters that had glassed over in the wake of Uncle Tupelo's 1994 demise. Find Whiskeytown vinyl records and Whiskeytown cds on Lost Highway Records.