Suntanama

Sounding like a scabby version of Workingman’s Dead, the Suntanama’s Another is an urban, drugged-out stab at the country blues. Although the album has garnered far more attention for the label it was released on (Drag City) and the fact that the band is made up of members of the No Neck Blues Band (a New York hippie collective), it truly deserves to get by on its own merit. Each track takes standard elements of the folk, blues and country mediums and scrapes them into a modern form, avoiding the predictability and the pretentiousness that can go along with such a feat. One downside of the disc though is vocalist Darren Zoltowski’s tendency towards toilet strain vocals. Songs such as album highlight "The 3 of 3’s” work better with a more relaxed tone and allow the instrumental aptitude shine through.