Stone City Stragglers – Little Misfortunes & Innocent Mistakes (Trailer Park Treasures)

I can imagine listening to this album on the long drive through southern Illinois after dark. Love, alienation, prison, loneliness—all the best themes in country are represented here, without much “alt”. These are pretty songs from a band enamored with classic country, so much so that they cover Gram Parson’s “Sin City.” But like many such covers, the Stragglers do nothing with the song to make it their own. This track could have shown the band at its best, but instead we’re left with a predictable run-through of a song we all know. The rest of the album is similarly middle-of-the-road. If all the country music on the radio sounded like this, it would be a good thing and I might listen, but I’d still wish for something more adventurous.

Buy this album at CD Street.