Suburban Home
2004
Chicken Demos
About This Album
This album from Ft. Collins, CO, alt-country band Drag the River is really a "B-sides" album of sorts (more accurately, a "leftovers" album), with much of the material having been previously recorded but not making it to an album. Lead singer Chad Price (also of punk band All) has claimed that Chicken Demos is largely comprised of songs that didn't make the cut for the band's debut album, 2000's Hobo's Demo's. Fans of Price's work in All, or of John Snodgrass' work with Armchair Martian, may be surprised that Drag the River isn't more of a hard-edged cowpunk collective; rather, the group shows a real bent toward bruised Americana and classic country, with some guitar distortion and crunch here and there. More distinctly, there's some really tuneful and mellow country-rock fare with acoustic foundations. (A highlight is the undeniably pretty "She Used to Smile.") In line with the traditions of country, there's also a lovelorn, heart-trodden thread running through the lyrics. This is a decent outing for fans of Drag the River -- and stands up as a proper album more than one would expect -- but perhaps not the best starting point for the uninitiated. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5,7,8,9 and 10)

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