Listen to "Sick As A Gun" from La Lamentor

So when I say Weinland are reminiscent of Neil Young it isn’t meant to imply they’re sitting around doing bong rips and slavishly trying to recreate On the Beach (well the bong rips part is probably accurate considering how mellow these dudes are). It’s just that their combination of loose limbed folksiness, quavering vocalizations and slightly menacing melancholia makes me feel like I’m listening to a long lost gem from Young’s distant cousin who has a firmer grasp on his vocal chops.

Frontman Adam Shearer’s voice is flat-out haunting, whether on the brink of cracking as it floats above a mournful minimalist piano figure on “With You Without You” or whispering above the finger-picked gallop of “Sick As A Gun.” The spine tingling effect of Shearer’s cutting choral refrain on "Gun," (“Oh you’re sick as a gun/Don’t try and love anyone”) as it dissolves into a beautifully lax slice of acoustic slidework and warm keys hasn’t listened for me after dozens of spins, and I doubt it ever will. Partly inspired by Shearer’s recently departed career as a mental health counselor for minors, the lyrics on La Lamentor sketch dysfunctional persons with an eye for both empathy and accuracy that simply can’t be faked (particularly on standout track “Desiree”).

So there you have it, an album clearly entrenched in a specific musical tradition - that being the half-baked Neil Young Americana special - that still manages to feel like a welcome breath of fresh air through the sheer unflagging excellence of its execution. Hopefully the rest of the Young enthusiasts out there are taking notes.