The five members of
Alberta Cross, representing the disparate rock locales of Brooklyn, NY, London, England, and Stockholm Sweden, share an innate love of all things Americana on their 2010 sophomore effort
Broken Side of Time. Like
Crazy Horse fronted by
Mercury Rev’s
Jonathan Donahue, the band blazes a trail through the backwoods with the raw fury of
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and the pensive, world-weary pen of
Gram Parsons. For the most part, grungey, midtempo numbers like "Song Three Blues,” “Rise from the Shadows,” and the epic title track (which sports a nice, meaty,
Sabbath-inspired breakdown) provide
Broken Side of Time’s backbone, but there are enough boozy stadium rockers here to keep fists pumping through the thick veil of smoke. Still, it’s a slow burner with nary a hook in sight, and vocalist/guitar player
Petter Ericson Stakee’s theatric mumbles can be an acquired taste, but listeners with a CD collection that leans heavily on bands like
Catherine Wheel,
16 Horsepower,
the Cult, and
Kings of Leon will find this dense monolith of roots-based stoner rock to be the perfect late-night companion for a dark summer highway. ~ James Christopher Monger