Eddie Spaghetti

It's a harsh reality that over the past decade, Supersuckers frontman Eddie Spaghetti has been doing greater work as a countrified twanger than punk rock'n'roller. While we've always known of his fancy for cow-shit music, evidenced by the band's brilliant 1997 work, Must've Been High, it wasn't until debut 2003 solo venture The Sauce that ol' Spag finally earned his longstanding cowboy hat. As tertiary full-length Sundowner confirms, these days a General Lee-inspired strap and crisp acoustic guitar are his weapons of choice, not the bass he's been tossing around for some 22 years. Maintaining his penchant for inspiring, anthemic ditties, Sundowner refines influences such as Cash, Jennings, Kristofferson, Coe and the rest of the hillbilly brigade, yet offers up an untapped source of originality. Even on covers of Dave Dudley's "Cowboy Boots," Del Reeves' "Girl on the Billboard" and, get this, an upbeat, shuffling version of the Dwarves' "Everybody's Girl," there's an undeniably soft, warming shine, natural comfort and confidence to Sundowner that have been lacking from much of his post-Evil Powers Of Rock 'N' Roll work. If this is the twilight of Spaghetti's career, it's time to welcome the sundown with open arms.