Rock ‘n’ roll has taken a turn for the generic, with emo ascending the Top 40 faster than you can say “smells like another Dookie,” but Cub Country has resisted this trend by taking a sharp dive into the South. Not that anyone can blame the band, as Southern influence has expanded outside its borders with the sleeper success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, which compiled a variety of bluegrass-twinged country tunes. Cub Country’s ambitious first effort, High Uinta High, proudly bradishes its lust for the birthplace of rock.
At first listen, High Uinta High sounds as though it could be the overall-clad lovechild of Will Oldham and Wilco and perhaps even the Soggy Bottom Boys, but a quick play of the album soon turns into a vacation down South. Its sprawling mellow acoustica beckons you down to those golden southern fields, while the harmonies keep you swinging and relaxed in a faded rope hammock. Although the title track lacks luster, another track, “Butterfly,” is chock-full of various blues-country essentials, from the tinny, muffled vocals, to solo intracacies laced with the love of the wah-wah peddle. Singer Jeremy Chatelain has a soothingly trebly voice that seems developed solely for this kind of music. He hits the highs carefully so as not to venture into a yodel, yet trails off at just the right time, sounding perfectly nonchalant. The most familiar of all the tracks is perhaps “O Great Telephone,” which near-perfectly mimics the folk fingerpicking of Harry McClintock’s “Big Rock Candy Mountain” found on the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? Sheer coincidence that Chatelain chose that particular name for the song? Probably not.
Cub Country is a revolving door of indie and punk phenoms, but less like Menudo and more along the lines of say, Magnetic Fields or the Foo Fighters. Cub Country was created as a solo project by Chatelain, Jets to Brazil’s current bassist. He quickly enlisted the help of his own band, as well as members of Rival Schools, Helmut, Lunachicks and Euphone. Interestingly enough, those that lend their hands find their past bands of little influence on High Uinta High. It is their talent and obvious versatility that makes their appearances on the record especially worthy of praise. Perhaps it is just refreshing to finally hear a group of musically-typecast individuals produce something that seems far from what is expected from them. Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks, in particular, seems to have made the formal transition from her usual “bucktoothed cheerleader” persona to instead more of a “gnawing on buckwheat” mindset.
However, it is not to say that this record, named after a Wyoming county, does not have any reference to its comfortable home of indie/emo rock. The lyrics are focused on bemoaning the departure of a loved one, but isn’t that so much of the blues? And yes, it is inevitable that in every song you’ll recognize a hook from the last Jets record or perhaps a bend from the guitar wizardry of Rival Schools’ Utah Slim, but in any collaboration there are the signature sounds of its contributors. Regardless, what is truly remarkable is the way each artist’s niche has so perfectly nestled itself into a country record such as High Uinta High.
Chatelain’s found a safe bet with this emo, country, blues and folk amalgamation. An interesting departure for Jade Tree Records’ usual indie releases, Cub Country brings to the underground a sweet soul that otherwise would be filled with the bland repetition of the likes of Dashboard Confessional. Perhaps a break from lamenting his doomed romantic escapades would do the Confessional some good. A trip to the High Uinta is all it really takes to find some genuine country love.
