Review Summary: Windy City cowboys strike again
It seems there’s long been an undercurrent within rock music to “make country music cool” - it’s ebbed and flowed over the years, but you can see high points in the Byrds’ and Grateful Dead’s flirtations with the genre, with the ‘90s surge of alt-country bands, and with the more recent burst of Wednesday-adjacent acts fusing shoegaze and noisy indie with small town tales and ample twang. I’m not sure exactly how Tobacco City fits into this narrative, but my gut says they do somehow. After all, this band is a bunch of Chicago musicians playing weepy tunes built upon archaic country/western influences and full of references to, well,
horses, not to mention buffalo, and even a rendition of “Home on the Range”. Whether these choices represent the work of earnest revivalists or ironic hipsters is left up in the air, and if
Horses has an Achilles heel, it’s that the feeling of pastiche may be a bit strong for some listeners. Otherwise, this record is incredibly likable - warm, gently psychedelic, and full of cosmic Gram Parsons vibes. The melodies are rich, the musicianship tasteful, and the lyrics often delicately beautiful, in between waxing name-drops of drink and drugs. It’s the kind of easy listen which just makes you feel good, and that’ll keep me coming back.
