Really, absolutely nobody could sound as bad as I suspected this album might. A quick glance at the cover photo showed a sincere-looking guy with a shaved head and wearing a pair of sunglasses, leaning up against a wall with the tail-end of a cherry-red classic car in the corner of the frame. To me, this cover says either "guitar noodling jazz bore" or "surprisingly hardcore thrash-metal act: John Amen really kicks ass!" - of which neither prospect excited me too much. So imagine my surprise when the album inside turned out to be a collection of beautiful, bittersweet, acoustic-instrument-loaded folksy tunes that sound like something an upbeat Will Oldham might release. John Amen's voice is fantastically clear and true-sounding, and the backing instrumentals of mandolin, guitars, violin, pedal steel and the occasional horn and harmonica are just perfect. The best part of this, too, I think, is that I recognize the names of absolutely nobody on this disc, which is awfully rare these days, as it seems that the same six people in the U.S.A. are responsible for making records like this anymore. – Holly Day