Minibar - Desert after Rain

"Once I was born to be leaving Once I was cruel to be kind But lately I've been dreaming Of things I left behind..." So begins the third installment of Minibar's rambling trek across the back roads of Americana, 'Desert After Rain'. It's a landscape littered with "posters of bands I once played with", "snap shirts" and "books full of words underlined", the detritus of years spent playing on the margins of mainstream USA. And yet, as the title suggests, this album is full of certain rugged resilience and the feeling that somehow their dogged determination is finally coming to fruition. Nowhere is this upsurge more apparent than in the sound of this record.

Minibar continues to straddle their UK origins and adopted California home. On this third CD the balance continues to tilt towards roots-rock, with the oft-mentioned Wallflowers and Wilco still being relevent comparisons; the Wallflowers' Rami Jaffee even turns up on Hammond organ for a pair of tracks. But even with their twangy guitars and rasp-and-whisper vocals providing a blend of rock, country, and soul, there's still an underpinning of Brit power-pop in the dense melodies and harmonies. The latter is highlighted on "Wide Open," thick with vocals and guitars reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub.

The opening "Things I Left Behind" catalogs the abandoned jetsam of the indie experience in a travelogue of lost clothes, bandmates, LPs and experiences strewn through the years. On the flipside, "Can I Call You A Cab?" lingers over the physical and emotional remains of a relationship, pondering how to move on. The dissolute closer, "In the Strings," mulls the same quandary, but with a sense that 'goodbye' is the only answer.

The band's rhythm battery has the bouncy snap of a well-honed pop band, but with enough swing to give it soul. Simon Petty's voice defines the band's sound, with a rasp that sits perfectly among (rather than on top of) the band's mix of acoustic and electric guitars.

Those who love beautifully produced pop with twangy edges should check this one out.