Bringing Down the Horse - The Wallflowers
Where did I ever hear so much of this album? I borrowed it from a friend this morning, vaguely thinking that listening to some new music might be the best way to rescue this incredibly chilly July day. The cover looks completely unfamiliar to me, and although I'm sure that I've heard a song or two from it it on the radio, I can't summon any particular songs to mind. The back of the CD is empty of song titles, as is the inside of the CD cover, which doesn't help me. Once I put it on and One Headlight comes on I think, ah yes- I've heard this. I've been listening to a lot of old music over the last two weeks and finding fragments of places pop up that I haven't thought of since I last heard the first words of a verse 5 years ago. A bit of that happens here- obviously I know the song, but it isn't as tied to a night as other songs like Pearl Jam's Jeremy are.
Well, so the first song was their radio hit, I guess. And then the same thought is in my head through tracks 2,3,4, and 5. I flipped the album over to look at the cover again- did I own this? It came out when I was in college, so maybe a friend had it? But I can't figure out who it would have been. Immediate familiarity bugs me, because I can't place the memories coming up- they're washed out, just the words of the chouses or a particular janglyness to the guitars in some spots.
In a way, it seems that the music would feel familiar even if I hadn't heard this album many times somewhere and forgotten about it. I know they're lumped with Gin Blossoms, Semisonic, and the other post-grunge quiet guitar bands, and their sound fits right in there. This is snuggly cardigan music for draping yourself across a futon with a drink and talking to.