Cracker's
Greenland never specifically references that isolated island in the North Atlantic, but there's an aura of loneliness coursing through even its brightest songs that is perfectly in keeping with the record's namesake. Listening to
Greenland is like booking passage into
David Lowery's past, with ports of call in his old northern California
Camper Van Beethoven stomping grounds, the British Isles, Spain, India, Morocco, and even Jamaica.
Greenland is quite a trip, in other words, and
Cracker's strongest record since their early-'90s high point,
Kerosene Hat -- the antiquey cover art even seems culled from the same vintage thrift-store bins that provided
Kerosene Hat's artwork. "Something You Ain't Got" opens
Greenland with organ swells, barroom piano, High Plains lap steel, and guest harmonies from
Caitlin Cary -- it's a reminder that
Lowery has always excelled at these elegiac country-rockers. "Where Have Those Days Gone" is a propulsive road song that picks up momentum as it runs through
Lowery's past.
Lauren Hoffman's harmonies and B-3 make the choruses soar, and a memorable bridge contrasting cascading piano with
Victor Krummenacher's high-octave basslines leads the song to the same resigned but redeemed destination as the cheekier "I Need Better Friends." The record's gentlest laments, "Fluffy Lucy" and "Night Falls," sound like outtakes from
Sparklehorse's
It's a Wonderful Life, which is not surprising since
Lowery's occasional collaborator
Mark Linkous plays on and co-produces both.