"His songs are rooted in the earth of Southwest America, and informed by his time as oxen driver, stone mason, carpenter to name but a few. He is close to the earth, and he understands the people who are similarly close to it. Musically though he takes inspiration from all over the place. Take Chicken Man, a skanky lowdown slice of funk, where the voodoo-esque chicken man, complete with bent beak and black spurs, takes his woman and wrecks his life. Or Don`t get Weird, the sort of cool and slow slide that Tom Waits used to record in the early days. Or Pilgrim, a mariachi-tinged cut of desert rock, complete with the sound of ripping duct tape. His lyrics are equally eclectic and inspired. Whether its the Dylan-esque flashes like the need to sleep with forty widows/just to cure the shakes, stomachs gurgling purple flowers or the fact that a man is made from sawdust cut from the divine he has a vivid and at times visceral way with imagery. Even Seeds and Candy, a simple story of two lovers who freeze to death in the mountains features the palace of the maelstrom and ravens talking in the junipers. As the album closes with the rollicking and slightly jazzy Charles Mingus Bird your finger hovers over the play button, ready to start listening all over again. Its that sort of album." (Rating: 8 out of 10) -- Jeremy Searle, americana-uk.com (Frogville)
