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April 3, 2003

Because Ken Coomer wasn't the main songwriter in WILCO and because he didn't write any of the material here, you can't really say that it's his new band or that he took the early WILCO/Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt sound and used it to forge a new outfit.

While The Coming Grass sound (think Whiskeytown, the bands already mentioned and a hayseed version of 10,000 Maniacs) is far from brand-spanking new, it is genuine.

Opening with guitarist/vocalist Nate Schrock's "Dealmaker" (think The Beatles' "Hey Bulldog" on Gram Parsons) and closing with "This Road" more than an hour later, "Transient" makes stops in Nashville ("Fix Your Own Cup of Tea," which is a joy to hear simply for Sara Cox's lovely country twist) takes you down a dusty Western highway where a Warren Zevon-esque narrative unfolds ("Fix Me Doctor") and even gets you into a wrong-side-of-the-tracks bar somewhere you never thought you'd wind up ("Guard Down") and everywhere in between. Kudos to any band that can meld "Rubber Soul" psychedelia with '70s country rock as this band does on "The Rain is Gone".

But The Coming Grass is not a band that's too eclectic. They make all these elements work because they immerse themselves deeply within each style, committing themselves to giving the ultimate performance rather than giving "lookit what I can do" winks to the audience.