Having grown up in a blue color Michigan town and then spending his adult life on the road plying his trade as a troubadour, Kalish certainly has the bonafides to sing about tough times in America. Whether he's singing about being homeless on Christmas (#11) or the woes of a working class couple trying to get by (#2), he makes you feel the angst with lyrics like: "That’s just life working in the US of A. When you got bills to pay. You’ll probably get cancer some day.". No crumeggon though, he also celebrates the joy of life in tunes such as Mighty River and Delta Woman. Either way, his band, which includes piano, fiddle, banjo and steel guitar masterfully supports the disparate moods, be they uptempo bluegrass or ethereal alt-country dystopia. Topping off the sonic magic are hypnotic supporting vocals from Lucy Cochran and Miriam Speyer as well as arrangements that include intriguing time and key changes. Pick a track, any track and earn DJ karma for spinning an unsung master of his craft.

RIYL: Ray Wylie Hubbard, Garret T. Capps
FCC: #10 at 1:13

1 Kalimotxo - lovely piano/pedal steel interplay on this reminiscence of a past love & favorite drink (med, 2:56)***
2 Pam & Tim - blistering country rocker about blue color life in the 'US of A' (med, 3:58)***
3 Independence Day - slow finger picked intro builds to trippy ending (slow/fast, 2:34)
4 No Hope - lament over the country's shrinking middle class with great mandolin, harmonica & piano (med, 4:13)**
5 Delta Woman - based on never recorded Johnny Cash lyrics with great instrumental break, goes spacey at 3:15 (med, 5:04)*
6 Intermission - trippy instrumental (med, 1:24)
7 Songs for Nobody - full bore rocker tells travails of life on the road (fast, 3:39)**
8 Mighty River - blissful toe tapper about venturing out on one's own with sublime break (fast, 2:45)***
9 Don't Confuse Me - bittersweet duet with Lucy Cochran interleaves fast & slow verses (slow, 4:28)**
10 Standard Time - magical piano/steel break (FCC, med, 4:26)*
11 Wino Christmas - poignant story about being homeless on Christmas with sublime horns in break (slow, 5:32)**