The Latebirds – Last of the Good Ol’ Days (Second Motion)

Last of the Good Ol’ Days, the third record from the Latebirds, is further proof that a term like “Americana” refers more to genre than country of origin. Though the quintet hails from Finland, it’s steeped in a country-flavored, melodic rhythm guitar pop born in the States. Fortunately, it’s a sound easy to replicate as long as it’s made with an irony-free heart. That doesn’t mean it’s humorless, as the snappy rocker “Kickin’ Me” indicates, but the soul of the record comes in more heartfelt anthems like “Among the Survivors,” “Time Revisited” and “You Cynical You.” With clean, warm production from Jim Scott, who knows a thing or two about this kind of music from his days working with Whiskeytown, Last of the Good Ol’ Days hits the spot like the brightest work of the Great Roots Rock Scare of the 90s, when songs ruled and gimmicks hid their faces in shame.

The American edition comes with a bonus disk recorded at Levon Helm‘s place in Woodstock. Helm himself sits in on drums for a take on Steve Goodman‘s “City of New Orleans,” while Kris Kristofferson joins in for his own “In the News.’ David Rawlings and Benmont Tench lend a hand or three as well. Anchored by a pair of fine new originals (the countrified ‘At Your Service’ and the anthemic ‘Blind Admiration’), the disk closes with a sweetly widescreen cover of Townes Van Zandt‘s ‘To Live is to Fly.’

http://www.latebirds.com
http://www.secondmotionrecords.com