I attended the University of Missouri in the late 80s and early 90s. Uncle Tupelo, the Rainmakers, the Replacements, the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum and the Flaming Lips were our house bands. There were a lot of other bands that came around fairly often, but those bands made it a habit to play Columbia more than once a year. For better and worse, those bands have a heavy imprint on my musical taste. Burning Curtains could easily have meandered in and out of that scene without anyone batting an eye.

Burning Curtains Burning Curtains (Orphan)

A couple of these songs sound just like early Uncle Tupelo. A couple have the prog-punky edge of late 80s Lippage. There's a definite off-the-cuff feel that fits a couple of those Minneapolis bands. As this album chunks and chugs on, I'm transported to lovely days of dissolution in the past.

Which isn't to say Burning Curtains is a retro act. Well, except for the adherence to the modestly lo-fi indie rock sound. That is soooooo 1989. But these songs come together and fall apart in their own special way. I'm just kinda weirded out by how familiar this feels.

Feels, not sounds. This sucker would have had heavy airplay on KCOU for a few weeks, maybe a few dozen folks might have shown up to a show the Blue Note on a Wednesday (dollar pitcher) night and then . . .

Listening to this album is freaking me out. I'm actually vaguely itching for a dollar pitcher of Natural Light. And man, I really do know (and can afford) so much better. This is remarkable--to me. I'm so twitchy right now that I'm really not sure how it will hit anyone else. But my brain is on fire. And that's cool with me.

Jon Worley