Metro
28 October 2008

Brilliantly named for a career in country music, Dallas Good and his brother, Travis, take turns fronting Canadian four-piece The Sadies. Their rich alt.country sound taps into family tradition - their parents and uncle formed the still-successful bluegrass band The Good Brothers - but they have updated the sound of sun-bleached Americana by adding splashes of trippy psych-rock.

Although reverb-heavy rock and folk instrumentals creep into their most recent album, New Seasons, it’s still first and foremost a country album - full of finger-picking guitar solos and swooning, spaghetti-western soundscapes. The album also finds the Good brothers calling in favours from their family; mum Margaret was brought into the studio to sing backing vocals and their dad and uncles played banjo and guitar.

New Seasons marks a return to the band’s traditional country roots. Although it’s gentler and more subdued than previous albums, where they’ve taken cosmic
detours or dipped their toes in West Coast surf, it’s their tightest and most cohesive so far. Steve Albini has given them a rawer edge several times in the past when he oversaw production duties, but Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, who was left in charge this time, has created a dusty blend that sits somewhere between Ennio Morricone, Silver Jews and Nick Cave.

Tonight, The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, 8pm, £12. Tel: 0191 230 4474. Metro: Byker. www.thesadies.net