Willard Grant Conspiracy - Mojave (1999)

Country: U.S.A. 

Genre: Alternative Country

Label Number: SRRCD 46

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© 1999 Slow River Records

Mojave Review by Denise Sullivan

The third effort by Willard Grant Conspiracy -- a musical collective with Robert Fisher and Paul Austin in the songwriting chairs -- probes deep into desolate, country territory; the songwriting sensibility draws from West Texas and American Gothic. A core band is aided by players numbering in the double digits, some from indie-rock (Codeine, Come, the Silos and Sugar), but they are far from a noisy post-punk or roots-rock supergroup. Willard Grant merge familiar rock and folk archetypes with some creepy sounds of their own, pushing them closer in spirit to the Louvin Brothers, Lee Hazlewood and Nick Cave than any of their more immediate contemporaries in the No Depression scene. "Color of the Sun," "Right On Time," and "The Work Song" are roots-inspired, while "Go Jimmy Go" is a disconcerting hardcore punk song. The record's superb finale, "The Visitor," is drone-noir, its sound more in line with the Velvet Underground, Dream Syndicate and Spiritualized than anything twangy.

 tags: willard grant conspiracy, mojave, 1999, flac,