Although nominally an alt country act,
the Only Children's second album tends to keep their twangier elements in reserve while playing up the pop songcraft of singer/songwriter Josh Berwanger. Oddly, the results sound less like the children of
Uncle Tupelo who helped found the alt country scene, and slightly more like an earlier brand of roots rocker, although thankfully devoid of the truly rotten, dated production that hampers their albums for modern listeners. The closest point of comparison for this Lawrence, KS quintet lies in the explosion of Americana or cowpunk bands that appeared in the mid-'80s. Echoes of
Rank and File,
the Long Ryders and
Green on Red course through these ten meat and potatoes pop songs, from the lo-fi, semi-acoustic "Dusty Magazines" to the far more polished, moody sincerity of "Back to You." There are occasional bobbles -- the vocals on the nearly solo, mostly acoustic "Something Like Me" sound like a misguided parody of early
Bob Dylan at his most yowling -- but a near-perfect roots-pop tune like the masterful "1969" (the best song
Marshall Crenshaw never wrote) more than makes up for them. ~ Stewart Mason