The Bar at the End of the World

Comparisons with the similarly-inspired Alabama 3 are difficult to avoid, but Lupine Howl are now sounding more and more like themselves. They remain proficient at rumbustious rock & roll, such as the Stones-a-like opening track "A Grave To Go To", but the moments that really make The Bar at the End of the World somewhere you'd want to visit are the slower and prettier ones, especially the attractively Velvets-via-Lee-Hazlewood-ish "Don't Lose Your Head" and "Can You Forgive Me?". Best of all is "Signing Off", a magnificent gospel ballad which sounds like something written for a 25th century George Jones. --Andrew Mueller