Track Listing

1. Slow Hearse
2. Picture
3. Action
4. Underground Dream
5. Circadian Rhythm
6. Beacon Soul
7. Search
8. Adrenaline And Heresy
9. Satellite
10. Automatic Society
11. Methamphetamine
12. L Train
13. Highways And Cigarettes
14. Phosphate Skin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20166 in Music
• Released on: 2007-03-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Amazon.co.uk Review
Five albums into Son Volt's career--and a pair into the band's rebirth following leader Jay Farrar's several solo ventures--it's time to bury the encumbering "alt-country" moniker that has dogged Farrar since his days in the genre-setting Uncle Tupelo. While the inexhaustible songwriter relied on guitars to drive 2005's rock-heavy Okemah and the Melody of Riot, Son Volt amends its familiar arrangements on The Search, balancing the instrumentation with piano, organ, and dabbles in a horn section. "Feels like drivin' 'round in a slow hearse," Farrar pleads over repetitive piano and East Indian guitar loops in "Slow Hearse." It's a pensive opener that suggests something is askew, but the horns that kick off "The Picture" literally scream it from the Stax vaults. Farrar dives in and out of genres, tingling the ivories to add subtle alterations to both the gorgeous "Underground Dream" and Imagine-like "Adrenaline and Heresy," turning his band into Gang of Four for the 134-second rocker "Satellite" and singing alongside Shannon McNally on the soulful "Highways and Cigarettes." While it may be impossible for this Son Volt to ever reach the pinnacle of their 1995 debut, no one can accuse Jay Farrar of going through the motions. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Releases of 2007
Son Volt have released a pretty reliable run of albums over the last few years. This is one of their best and has a much 'wider' sound than their last release 'Okemah & The Melody of Riot' by incorporating horns and a string section on several tracks. The opening deliberate dirge of a track 'Slow Hearse', is contrasted by the following songs which throw the full band into play.

Stand out tracks such as 'Underground Dream', 'Circadian Rhythm' and 'Adrenaline and Heresy' also plug into a mildly Psychedelic/Paisley Underground influence with some glorious jangly and phased guitar shining through. As ever the lyrical content is fairly emotional but also deals with wider subjects, such as climate change (The Picture).

I've played this record a lot since I bought it and recommend it to others who want some high quality Americana in 2007.