The Schramms already had intelligence and maturity to spare when they cut their second album,
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite, but the two years of seasoning that preceded the recording of 1994's
Little Apocalypse is audible from the first play. While the Schramms already sounded tight on their earlier recordings, they sound positively intuitive on these sessions (especially
Ron Metz, whose drumming offers lots of subtle color without calling attention to itself), and
Dave Schramm's guitar playing has, if anything, grown even more striking and inventive, confirming his status as one of America's greatest unsung guitarists. And while
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite sounded like a set of great songs,
Little Apocalypse is a great album, displaying a greater thematic unity and enough tonal variety to keep it compelling from start to finish. And
Little Apocalypse is dark enough to live up to its title, full of casual murders, angry apparitions, songs of the sirens, and vengeful final words alongside
Schramm's usual tales of romantic distress and emotional discombobulation, painting a vivid picture of a world where things aren't quite right made all the more familiar by
Schramm's warm, well-worn voice. (For good measure, the band also offers up another of its stellar covers: in this case, an inspired reading of
Lucinda Williams' "Side of the Road.") A striking mix of the comfortable and the troubling,
Little Apocalypse is a superb album from a band just hitting the top of its form.