Jason Merritt’s quavery, tragic voice and his band’s parched, downbeat tone make Will Oldham the obvious reference point. But a wider palette of rustic despair is eventually painted in by these unlikely country converts from New York.
Like fellow NYC yokels The Boggs, they’ve obviously heard The Band, and the arcane Americana they in turn drew on, So while Merritt’s desolate lyrics never quite double as deadpan hilarity
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