We are living in an age of post-everything. It seems like everywhere you turn, there are postmodernists rambling on about post-punk, post-hardcore and post-rock over a bowl of Post Raisin Bran. It's only a matter of time before we see post-hip-hop, and even that might already exist, albeit without the aid of a helpful genre tag.

The one post- I thought I'd never see was post-country. But it seems that even that has been covered. Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the blueprint for postmodern roots music, but Califone will be the band to perfect it.

Califone's latest album, Quicksand/Cradlesnakes is a mish-mash of futuristic Brian Eno-isms and back-porch stomps that successfully execute what we could only imagine Beck was trying to do back in the day. Songs like "Mean Little Seed" and "Michigan Girls" stay in tune with traditional roots music, yet are offset with an added touch of white noise and feedback, something that would have only accidentally interfered with recordings of the genre's pioneers.

Once you get past the few truly "country" songs on the album, it starts getting weird. "Your Golden Ass" takes Jesus Lizard-style noise rock and adds some bluesy slide work. "Slower Train" begins slow and simple, but builds up to a gigantic Flaming Lips-like spectra-sonic masterpiece.

Yet, all of this isn't to say that Califone isn't catchy, because they are. Almost every song on Quicksand is worthy of a jug band singalong, let alone one in the comfort of your own automobile. "Vampiring Again" is vintage Pavement, cleaned up and twanged-out. Sort of like if Wowee Zowee was played by music students.

The chorus of "Your Golden Ass" is just begging to land its creaky ship on the pristine shores of college radio. When Tim Rutili sings "make your/make your/make your move," over buzzing, low-tuned guitars, it sounds like Thurston Moore arm wrestling Robert Johnson at Lounge Ax in front of every contributor to the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. Come to think of it, that would probably just sound like an arm wrestling match. But you get the idea.

Califone is post-country, post-blues, post-rock, even post-post. The combination of sounds on Quicksand/Cradlesnakes is bizarre, beautiful, anachronistic and timeless.

Somewhere, Tom Waits is smiling.

Similar albums:
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
Palace - Viva Last Blues

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Jeff Terich
11.25.2003