There’s an old cowpoke motto that goes “when you discover that you’ve dug yourself in a hole, the first thing you need to do is to stop digging.” But that’s not how Big Ditch Road operates throughout the six tracks which comprise the deep, dark, intriguing EP Great Dissent… Helmed by Darin Wald and his world-weary croon, BDR is a whip-smart alt-country ensemble from, of all places, Minnesota. Yet it is Wald’s wrenching pathos which summons the sprits of Hank Sr. as his co-conspirators ply their craft with ragged precision. Jangley up-tempo rockers such as “Aren’t These Condos Killers?” and “I Am A Diplomat” belie their desperate subject matter with cozy harmonies and sweet melodies. Bassist Amy Buckstein’s lofty backing vocals and Brian O’Neil’s soaring pedal steel are the stuff of grievous angels. With a stuck-in-the-mud tempo tempered by Buckstein’s muted wail “My Body May Hover” emerges as a dirge of Velvet Underground proportions. Highly recommended for followers of Bobby Bare Jr., Waco Brothers, and Beachwood Sparks.
--Tom Semioli
