10/18/98 :: Chicago Tribune :: by Greg Kot

This Chicago trio creates a cinematic mix- redolent of spaghetti western soundtracks, gypsy campfire instrumentals, and Appalachian murder ballads- out of their Salvation Army storehouse of instruments: nails, marimba, rainsticks, toy drum, organaire, cymbals and spurs, even shoe horns. As he delivers dryly devastating narratives about people trying to escape themselves- a teenage runaway who discovers that no one cares that she's gone, a drunk who tries to dry out in a flea-ridden apartment- singer Darren Richard paints carefully detailed portraits of everyday anguish. But the wondrous soundscapes and Richard's plaintive voice invest each one with hard-won dignity and beauty.