Uniquely skewed country sounds

Six years have passed since the release of Freakwater's last album, End Time. During that time, their longest break since their 1989 debut, Catherine Irwin and Janet Beveridge Bean released solo records; Irwin's achingly sincere "Cut Yourself a Switch," and Bean's lush, heartbreaking "Dragging Wonder Lake." The artistic separation of these two, a result more of circumstance than design, could not last, and plans to create a new Freakwater album started to evolve. Lyrically, Freakwater continues to write about heartache and sadness, yet also touch on subjects not often broached in traditional country music. Dylan once said, "She knows there's no success like failure, and that failure's no success at all," a phrase that aptly describes the Freakwater perspective. The new music takes on an increasingly ominous, compelling tone with each new listen. Like the album cover's warped image of a burning bouquet, the music itself represents an exquisite blend of beauty, horror, and inexplicable optimism