Friends Of Dean Martinez "Live At Club 2" 2001

If anyone makes a movie about a cowboy getting high on questionable, colorful substances and getting lost in the forgotten deserts of the American Southwest, Friends of Dean Martinez should write the score...
...In Live at Club 2, Bill Elm's tricked-out pedal steel leads the way through the group's moody, murky, ambient country set. He puts his evocative instrument to great use, drawing us into its every keening note. Indeed, the entire band has a knack for pulling weighty emotional moments out of the aether. There's definitely a bit of magic in this bunch.
Opener "For All Time"'s jazzy haze makes a pleasantly lethargic beginning. Dave LaChance's drums slowly parse out a rhythm, and Elm's pedal steel bleeds its sorrowful stain into the stage. The quiet, melodic lull can't last forever, though -- Mike Semple's guitar-work enables a smooth transition into the twangier "Main Theme", and Live takes off from there. By the time we reach "Ethchlorvynol", Elm's steel is screeching and moaning in a miasma of reverb.
On several occasions the band venture beyond their own material to revisit the past. Country standard "Tennessee Waltz" -- the fourth official song of the State of Tennessee, as of 1965, in case you didn't know -- becomes an acid lullaby in the Friends' capable hands, but after a while, Semple's lead guitar brings in the blues. Likewise, Gershwin's "Summertime" slows its jazzy rhythm to a crawl, then melts it down into a New Orleans dirge.
There's only one problem: Friends of Dean Martinez do their thing so well that Live at Club 2 gradually blurs into a thick, low-hanging sonic haze. Songs blend freely, rendered fluid by their lack of discrete hooks. Some listeners will find this disappointing, but it isn't a deal breaker; regardless of your general opinion of the group, the album delivers a handful of moments so perfectly crafted, they will haunt you. That ought to compensate for a few flashes of monotony. - Wes Holmes
Dean Martinez has only 3 friends:
Bill Elm - steel guitar / Dave Lachance - drums / Mike Semple - guitar

trax:
1. For All Time 2. Main Theme 3. Inner Sanctum 4. Ethchlorvynol 5. Cabeza De Mojado 6. Summertime 7. Tennessee Waltz 8. Chunder 9. A Place In The Sun 10. All The Pretty Horses 11. Loretta · Overload · Hurricade
Recording information: Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany (05/31/2001)