Search - Cowboy Nation :: Cowboy Nation

Formerly by turn, the Dils, Rank & File, and Blackbyrd, Chip, and Tony Kinman have couched their country heart in prevailing musical styles. As Rank & File, they recorded one of the great cow-punk albums in Sundown. But beneath the veneer of each incarnation lay the soul of Roy Rogers, and that consciousness surfaces here. There's a pure understated, old-time country charm to "Cowboy Way" and "Rifle, Pony & Me." Meanwhile, tracks such as "Remember the Alamo," "The Blizzard," and the final lament "The Clock" reflect the darker sensibilities of Nick Cave as much as the pathos of Marty Robbins. The danger is that Cowboy Nation will drift into obscurity like much of the Kinman catalogue. That would be an unfortunate fate for this quiet, unobtrusive, and delightful watercolor of Western Americana. --John Sutton-Smith