Americana is basically dead and buried in the country that lent the alt-country genre its name, with the handful of hangers-on more or less recycling the rustic minimalism already perfected by
Will Oldham and contributing little to the movement's forward motion. Up in Canada it's a different story -- Vancouver's
Radiogram not only recalls Americana's halcyon days, but for
All the Way Home draws on disparate influences spanning from chamber pop to slowcore to post-punk (a cover of
New Order's dramatic "Love Vigilantes," no less) to update the formula for a different era. With its pedal steel, strings, and trumpet solos, the record sometimes suggests a grittier
Mojave 3, and frontman Ken Beattie's duets with vocalist
Shelly Campbell evoke
the Walkabouts'
Chris Eckman and
Carla Torgerson, but
Radiogram offers more than the sum of its influences -- Beattie is a phenomenal songwriter, and his spacious, atmospheric arrangements sometimes recall the production work of
Daniel Lanois. Lofty comparisons to be certain, but
All the Way Home deserves the kudos.