Rodney DeCroo – Mockingbird Bible

Rodney DeCroo maybe the perfect example of the maudlin, sad-as-shit, country singer-songwriter. I like my roots with a side order of soulful melancholy, and like Townes Van Zandt, Richard Buckner and David Munyon, DeCroo dishes up the dark stuff, and drags in the listener to share a few things we’d probably be happier not knowing. Some of us, anyway. Me? I’m a man for all seasons. Autumn and winter are as essential as spring and summer. The dark nights are as beautiful as the sunny mornings, and DeCroo makes for appropriate listening when the evenings are drawing in and the chill seeps into bones. Maybe it’s his Canadian roots that allows DeCroo the luxury of sidestepping some of the more traditional elements of his preferred genre. Bleak abstractions creep into his songs like half-seen demons, intent on wresting possession from the narrator. Surreal and sorrowful lines appear and wane suddenly, like puffs of smoke, forcing the listener to rewind quickly to confirm the depression. This isn’t easy listening, but the rewards are plentiful. (Northern Electric)

Andrew

www.myspace.com/wartornman