What we anticipate seldom occurs, but what we least expect generally happens. Take unexpected resurrections, for instance. The Woodbox Gang are putting out their first album since 2012. The album will be released in the spring or summer of 2025. You can preorder the album. For only $20 you will get the new CD shipped to your address and a digital download of the full album (US only). It will also be released on vinyl (not for the perceived sound quality, but for the album cover aesthetics). Unfortunately, at the moment there's no international preorder. The new album will be titled "Brown Cane Toad". According to the frontfigures Hugh DeNeal and Alex Kirt, it's going to be an all-acoustic album including a washboard (upgraded with a paint brush cleaner to achieve a softer sound), dobro, acoustic guitar, upright bass, mandolin and banjo. The frontfigures have declared that they will not try to go down some new route. They will return to where it all started with trashcan Americana and caustic acoustic cacophony. In my opinion, very good and fitting epithets. Why do they want to release an album after all these years? The Woodbox Gang feel that they need to make some new music because there's new things going on in the world. I think the new album will be rough around the edges. Spicy language cannot be ruled out. I want to get a copy of the new album. A lot of time has passed. In March 2025 it's going to be 25 years since the Woodbox Gang played their first show together at the Yellow Moon Cafe in Cobden, IL. In fact, 25 years in the genre is like 100 years in real life. 

Opposite words are expressions in the language where each term conveys contrasting meanings. Killer is a superlative that is being used to describe the tracks of the highest quality of an album. Filler is a superlative that is being used to describe the tracks of a lesser quality on an album, used for example in order to make it up to an album length of say 45 minutes. It's in the nature of things that there are far more filler than killer albums. It's not an academic exercise to distinguish the one from the other. You will know them by their fruits. My list of killer albums comes with no surprises. Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath), Desire (Bob Dylan), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie), The Boatman's Call (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Greetings from Asbury Park NJ (Bruce Springsteen), Parallell Lines (Blondie), The Queen is Dead (The Smiths), Marquee Moon (Television) and Rumours (Fleetwood Mac). There's no all killer no filler album in the gothic country genre. This kind of music is an aquired taste, imperfection is part of perfection. The 10 killer albums mentioned above are different amongst themselves, but there are three common denominators: theme, coherence and execution. Many people think that adding an extra feature or additional layer always improves quality. On the contrary. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

The book "High Fidelity" by british author Nick Hornby is one of my favorites. I don't really know why, but it could be that it's elegant truffled with recognition, references, moments and spot-on lines. The book has been adapted to film (and takes place in the US). This transfer works unexpectedly well. One of many colourful characters in the book (and film) is "Ray" Raymond, former neighbour, conflict resolution counselor and the romantic rival to the protagonist, Rob Gordon. When Rob's girlfriend, Laura, leaves him, his whole world falls apart. Laura moves temporarily in with the rival. Rob's portrait of Ian "Ray" Raymond isn't particular nice. "I'm starting to remember things now: his dungarees; his music (African, Latin, Bulgarian, whatever fucking world music fad was trendy that week); his hysterical, nervous, nerve-jangling laugh; the terrible cooking smells that used to pollute the stairway; the visitors that used to stay too late and drink too much and leave too noisily. I can't remember anything good about him at all." Rob humiliates himself beyond comprehension and ultimately lapse into stalking. In the book he is confronted by Ian "Ray" Raymond. Rob tries to defend himself and says that he has stopped stalking. "We've noticed, and we're glad. But, you know... how are going to make peace here? We want to make things easier for you. What can we do? Obviously I know how special Laura is, and I know that things can't be good for you at the moment. I'd hate it if I lost her. But I'd like to think that if she decided she didn't want to see me any more, I'd respect that decision. D'you see what I'm saying?" In the film the role of Ian "Ray" Raymond is played by Tim Robbins. He doesn't hold back. In fact, he plays out the whole register and gives all the conflict resolution counselors of the world a bad name. Counseling may sound serious, adult and mature. But, being calm, understanding and Zen-like comes at a price, which is repressed agression. Not an admirable trait for a counselor. 

Salter Cane was formed around 2002/2003. They have relased two full-length albums and one EP between 2006-2010. Then the albums stopped coming. Now they are, without prior notice, back with a new album "Deep Black Water". I'm very surprised, partly because of the rarity of the occurrence in itself and partly because of the album sound. It sounds like the band has slept in an oxygene tent for the last 15 years and then just stepped out and resumed their thing, totally unaffected by time and space. In the article about Salter Cane on this site, it's stated that their thing is "gothic country", "melancountria", "country noir", "folk noir" and "alt-country darkmeisters". The new album is more gothic western influenced than their previous ones. There's a lot of guitar going on. I don't mind. On the contrary. I have a weak spot for gothic western music, especially when it's performed so well. The best songs are "Something Underwater", "Daylight Too Soon", "Lighting House", "Carry Her Home" and "Send Down The Floods". Executive summary: surprisingly good album from Salter Cane. My only complaint is that there are no cd copies for sale. You can listen to "Deep Black Water" and buy it in digital format at Bandcamp, just click here (opens in a new window).     

Have you ever seen social media posts where a person is challenging another person to post an album for, let us say, 30 consecutive days? No explanations or comments, just the album covers. These challenges are chain letters in a modernized form. Challenge accepted and will be completed? Not quite. An average person typically publish 3-4 posts and then falls short. Maybe these kind of challenges, to a lesser extent, activates the brain's reward center. Or could it be that nowadays our attention span is way shorter and our endurance more limited. Under all circumstances, it’s not possible to rank more than 10 objects, read more here (opens in a new window). I like to make lists. And, I like to yap about lists. I challenged two friends to make a "10 Albums I Can't Live Without" list. No social media nonsense, just pen and paper. It’s hard to summarize 50 years of music listening, including changes in music taste and aesthetic preferences. Which selection criteria should be used? Then it came to me. The selection criteria must be the albums that I have played the most and still finds brilliant. It's been a long and winding road. To paraphrase the quote "I can tell you how I got from Deep Purple to Howling Wolf in just 25 moves" from "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby, I can say: "I can tell you how I got from Slade to gothic country in just 25 moves". Some important milestones: Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Johnny Cash. Some of their albums made it to the list. Only one gothic country album succeeded, "Built with Bones” by Christian Williams. A deserving seventh place.

The number one album I can't live without is Vol. 4 by Black Sabbath. All killers, no fillers. From the opening song “Wheels of Confusion” to the closing song ”Under the Sun”. The album cover is sublime in black and orange with singer, band name and album title, vertically and horizontally. And when you opened the vinyl gatefold sleeve: concert photos of the band members and, the centre spread: a concert photo of the full band. Some emerging fans seriously discuss which lineup was the best. Unbelievable. If this is even a discussion then we are in trouble as a species. Everybody knows that after Sabotage it was downhill. I never saw them in their haydays, but I came close in 1977. The touring schedules in those days were insane. After completing the album "Technical Ecstasy" they went on tour from October 1976 to February 1977 in the US, followed by a European tour in Mars-April 1977. Black Sabbath were supposed to play at Konserthuset, Stockholm on April 26th, 1977. I was eager as a diehard fan could be. Unfortunately, it got cancelled as well as the remaining concerts on the tour (Oslo, London and Helsinki). At the time, the rumour was that the singer was not fit for purpose. Ozzy Osbourne had checked himself into Stafford County Asylum (St. George's Hospital) north of Birmingham before the tour. I don’t know if this stay had anything to do with it or if they were just exhausted. Anyway, it took nearly 20 years until we (the original lineup) finally met. It was at Stockholm Globe Arena, Stockholm on July 3, 2005. Black Sabbath were older and chastened, but still managed to put on a good show. Vol. 4 is the album I can't live without when all is said and done.