Don't Be a Stranger

iTunes Review

Not quite as scrappy as the wonderful Cave Singers (who they resemble in their occasionally mournful, hillbilly-ish moments), Seattle’s Moondoggies have more in common with past country-dabbling outfits like the Jayhawks, and, going back even further, the Band and the Grateful Dead. And it might be the blending of genres likes blues, rock and country, seasoned with weathered, ripe questioning on topics like spiritual yearning, that lends The Moondoggies (four musicians in their early 20s) an air of having been around a while. Standouts include the churchly organ and lofty guitars of “Black Shoe;” the sweetly understated tracks “Old Hound” and “Undertaker;” a choogalooging, foot-stomping rave-up called “’Ol Blackbird;” a hand-clapping throwdown to the man upstairs, “Jesus On the Mainline;” and “Long Time Coming,” which could have come right off an old Band album. With three-part harmonies, honeyed hooks, a classic Rhodes organ and a guitar sound that isn’t shy, the Moondoggies do a great job of blurring the boundaries between a bar-room brand of No Depression, laid back ‘70s rock and a cosmic-country hoedown. Don’t Be a Stranger is a refreshing and impressive debut.