There is a quote on the cover of Nathan's website: "If David Lynch had directed O Brother Where Art Thou, Nathan's music would be the soundtrack." Those are pretty lofty words but quite appropriate. Jimson Weed is the first exposure I have had to this Winnipeg based folk band and it is quite an impressive album. Keri McTighe and Shelley Marshall are the principal songwriters and needed a vehicle to present those songs to the masses. That's where Nathan erupted from. The music has pop elements but the girls twangy voices remind me of female country artists like Kasey Chambers or a happier Lucinda Williams. The arrangements sometimes border on Klezmer with tracks like "Jimson Weed". Some of the songs have a bit of creepy feel to them. It's more in the presentation than the song itself. "Gasoline" has one of the train style rhythms that trudge through all that comes in it's path. I found it hard not to be in a good mood listening to these girls singing. Nathan tries to hit on many different styles of roots music through out the Jimson Weed trip. There are all sorts of different instruments that make their way into the mix as well. Check them out in a city near you.
(Nettwerk 2004)