Vanish Valley

Vanish Valley have tons of alt-country hipster cred. The band's lead singer, Andrew McAllister, has worked with Phil Ek (who's produced Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses and the Shins), been publicly compared to Jeff Tweedy and harbours a self-described love for the music of alt-country God Townes Van Zandt. His first studio album with Vanish Valley, Get Good, lives up to the cred he's accumulated; it's a beautifully rendered collection of songs gussied up with the flourishes of organ, tympani and cello. McAllister's gravelly voice sounds as if it's coming from a man twice his age, with twice as much hard livin' under his belt. The opening track, "Hazy Hills," is the album's strongest, a quiet acoustic track that flourishes in an orchestral way throughout. While there are no particularly apparent hooks or obvious singles, the album as a whole is a pleasant and worthwhile listen.