They may have moved to Texas, but as long as Winnipeg ex-pats Twilight Hotel keep churning out albums as good as When The Wolves Go Blind, we’ll keep claiming the musical duo as ours. Drenched in vintage reverb, the 11-tracker is classic Twilight Hotel – dark, hypnotic, reflective roots songs that loan equally from blues’ minor tonalities, Americana twang and Tom Waits-style waltzes. In the standout Dream of Letting Go, Dave Quanbury contemplates mortality while Zdan’s overdriven, gritty lap steel slowly and agonizingly wails in slight dissonance. But the pinnacle of the album is Mahogany Veneer – a timeless-sounding, nostalgic hymn about life on the road and pressing onward. The tune maps a journey across the southern states – from the ruins of New Orleans to Memphis, where Quanbury admits, “All the boarded buildings made me long for Winnipeg.” Don’t miss their hometown show at the West End Cultural Centre Friday, Feb. 4.

Published in Volume 65, Number 18 of The Uniter (February 3, 2011)