Description:
The Minus 5`s eponymous release for 2006 can be endearingly referred to as The Gun Album given that there is a handgun where the cover title should be and a rifle down the spine. Perhaps the dual title tracks here might be the Beatle-esque album opener "This Rifle Called Goodbye" - with Scott sounding more like Jerry Garcia than ever before - or the peppy "With A Gun". Many other tunes invoke dark imagery with knives, metal plates, Death Valley, human gas guzzlers, funerals, Bibles, blood and more guns. McCaughey`s uncanny ability to make charming even the goofiest phrase keeps this from being too gloomy of an affair. He can even bring a chuckle when he sings lines like"I`ll kick your sister`s ass." It`s all in good fun as McCaughey & Co. fill in the spaces with classic and indie pop rock goodness. The Gun Album features the usual regalia of expected Pacific Northwesterners and some other far-flung pop craftsmen as well. Among regular members Peter Buck, Ken Stringfellow, John Ramberg and Bill Rieflin, the album also features guest appearances by John Wesley Harding, Kelly Hogan, Morgan Fisher (Mott), Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger/Long Winters), and Colin Meloy and John Moen (The Decemberists), among others. There are also two tracks recorded in Chicago with Wilco. Apparently no actual shots were fired. Imagine that!! -- Robinson, Miles Of Music (Yep Roc)
