Mallonee, Bill & The Big Sky Ramblers / Rags Of Absence, The
Album: Rags Of Absence, The   Collection:General
Artist:Mallonee, Bill & The Big Sky Ramblers   Added:Mar 2017
Label:Self-Release  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2017-04-05 Pull Date: 2017-06-07

Album Review
DJ Away
Reviewed 2017-03-29
The 70th-ish album in 25-ish years from the most prolific alt-country cowboy in New Mexico. The man is DIY to the extreme; the Big Sky Ramblers name is a front because Mallonee plays nearly every instrument on the record. This is pleasant front-porch Americana, with clear eyed, earnest singing about dusty roads, distant memories, love, loss, redemption, etc. Your opinion of this probably depends on your opinion of ‘70s-type country-rock records generally. RIYL Neil Young, Magnolia Electric Co, No Depression magazine, a straight-and-narrow cousin of Billy Sedlmayr. Favorites: 1, 4, 9, 10. No FCCs.

1. *(4:47)—Slow, warm, nocturnal, with a long Neil Young-esque closing solo.
2. (4:48)—Mid-tempo, crunchy, upbeat, optimistic.
3. (5:16)—Mid-tempo, rambling, free and easy.
4. *(3:30)—Slow, loping. Nice deep bass and fingerpicking.
5. (4:06)—Mid-tempo, swinging, upbeat.
6. (5:15)—Mid-tempo and bouncy like the previous track, but darker and twangier.
7. (5:58)—Slow, deep, weary. Long intro.
8. (4:26)—Mid-tempo and swinging. Mallonee sings about the reasons why the two-finger wave is a nice custom.
9. *(4:50)—Slow, lush, idyllic. Nice pedal steel.
10. *(4:40)—Slow, languid, dusty, catchy, really lovely.

Track Listing
1. The World's Tip Jar   6. Mesmerized
2. Boom & Bust Towns   7. Coverin' Ground
3. Nothing Here Was Ever Meant To Last   8. Two-Finger Wave
4. I Pulled Into Reno ('cause I Couldn't Make Salt Lake)   9. Jenny Lake
5. If You Pray (You'd Better Cry, Cry Cry)   10. The Rags Of Absence