Wooldridge Brothers The Unreel Hits

It takes balls to open an LP with a line like, "it was a dark and stormy night.” The Wooldridges, Scott and Brian, proceed to string together a bunch more clichés and manage to obtain the critical mass needed to transcend hackneyed images with the Brinsley Schwarz-ish country soul opener "Didn’t See It Coming.” The rest of the LP of leftovers and cast-offs from their previous three records liberally mixes pop, soul and twang in an equally pleasing way. Think a twangier Marshall Crenshaw, or a poppier Silos, and you’ll have a good idea. You might want to throw some Bodeans and Wilco into that mix as well. "Why I Love” has a strong Crowded House vibe and "Lost From Sight” recalls prime Cuddy-sung Blue Rodeo. "Snake Bit” is a jangle-y charmer, while "Counter Culture People” is initially a wee bit twee before it takes off with the entry of the strings. "Fascism On The Radio” sounds like a lost This Year’s Model track. It must be nice to have quality stuff like this to collect for your odds and sods LP.