Waco Brothers

"At the peak of my popularity, I'm crumbling into dust," Jon Langford, music veteran of
twenty-three years, sings on "It's Not Enough," the barroom opener to Electric Waco Chair.
It's hard not to hear the rest of the album -- the fifth country-rock outing by moonlighting
and former members of the Mekons, Jesus Jones, KMFDM and Wreck -- as a commentary on
frustrations of the working musician's life. The characters in these songs are aba... More >

Loving Sally Timms as I do, I take no pleasure in noting that the Wacos have supplanted the Mekons as Jon Langford's main squeeze. On their fifth and best album, a questionable vision of country music that dates back to Fear and Whiskey goes around and comes around as Langford and company realize that they've hung around long enough to turn into the desperate working stiffs their faux honky-tonk imagines. "I took this job in the summer/Never saw the winter rollin' on," Langford spits out as the autumn of his years hits November, and soon Dino Schlabowske is a traveling salesman doing cold calls on a circle tour he's afraid will never end. Me, I hope business picks up, which seems a nicer way of requesting more records this bitter and bracing than wondering whether alternate career opportunities are really any better. (Grade: A-)