Cowboy Junkies
At the End of Paths Taken
(Cooking Vinyl)
Nearly two decades after this Canadian folk rock outfit blew away many a listener with the adroit compositions of this sibling-led foursome in The Trinity Sessions, this their 11th cut feels like something of a masterwork. The same cannot be said of the band's sometimes morose and occasionally insipid meanderings in some of the previous albums. What a let-down, then, that Brand New World, the closest to these unimpressive forays, is chosen to open the album.
Skip it and jump into Still Lost's cool acoustic-guitar driven lament, which rings in familiar Junkies polished folk, led by Margo Timmins' honeyed vocals.
Her full range - stretching from growl to screamed melody, via a rounded sultry middle ground - is best exposed in skewed slow-burn nod-along My Little Basquiat, which incorporates short double bass and angry electric guitar interludes.