It's the classic rock & roll story: a talented and scrappy band gradually
emerges from a fertile local scene, gets its act thoroughly together over
the course of three steadily improving albums, and just as it's ready
to make its mark on the wider world, it falls apart. Dumptruck's third
album, For the Country, was its last; the core duo of Seth Tiven and Kirk
Swan had split up with Swan's departure, and legal troubles would sink
the band for good shortly after the album's release. There are harbingers
of doom in Tiven's downcast lyrics, but these are his strongest and most
well-crafted songs yet; "Island," the faintly Memphis-flavored
"Hung Out on a Line," and the country-rock jangle of "Wire"
all pack a serious wallop, and the band manages to make good use of Welsh
producer Hugh Jones' state-of-the-art studio without coming across as
slick or overprocessed. The occasional touches of Hammond organ and pedal
steel guitar (that's the legendary B.J. Cole on steel, by the way) give
Dumptruck's sound just the right added dimension on songs like "Wire,"
"Island," and the fine title track. As is the case with most
bands that have followed Dumptruck's trajectory, the last album is the
best place to start; then work backward to D Is for Dumptruck. Highly
recommended.
(by Rick Anderson, All
Music Guide)
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