[LINK] AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN The Gougers 'A Long Day for the Weathervane'
10/16/2007

Talk about finishing with a flourish. The final eight minutes of "A Long Day for the Weathervane" — that is, the gloriously twangy "Baby" and "Dedend" — burst gleefully toward moonlight with the dusk-hour gusto of an acoustic guitar pull on Ray Wylie Hubbard's front porch. In other words, it's exactly the loose, joyful jamboree that fans of the former Sidehill Gougers expect.

The real news is what leads up to that fantastic closing suite. Since the Gougers' 2006 EP "Gone to Seed," the band has sharpened its moniker, increased its studio ensemble to a dozen players — including Americana all-stars such as drummer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo) and guitarist Brad Rice (Son Volt) — and gone electric. They're gutsy modifications. After all, acoustic music enthusiasts are notoriously prickly about change.

Don't fret. Evolution rarely rounds a corner as gracefully as it does on "A Long Day for the Weathervane." In fact, this new album — much like Yonder Mountain String Band's similar departure last year — is a seamless transition from traditional folk to atmospheric roots rock. If many melodies are instantly recognizable, there's good reason — a combined eight of these tunes are recycled from "Gone to Seed" and the Gougers' 2003 full-length debut "Runaway Scrape." Gambling on that familiarity provides a tangible yardstick for measuring artistic growth.

Significant progress is most evident early on. Reworked front-end tracks "Manheim Station," "oldcrow/scarecrow," and "Riding in a Lincoln Continental with Sylvia Plath" resonate like the Cowboy Junkies at their moody best. But, importantly, added studio polish doesn't dilute the earthy poetry of these hard-won stories. Consider the rustic elegance of "It'll Get Better": "It creaks like a windmill, goes around and around. And the weathervane moves with the wind as it's blowing. She feels like a songbird that can't make a sound."

Recommended: "Everybody Knows," "Baby"

— Brian T. Atkinson