Show Description
Cabin Fever, Corb Lund’s enthralling new album, evolved from a period of introspection and hard traveling and covers a lot of territory ranging from rockabilly to Western swing, cowboy balladry to country-rock…and of course, the occasional yodel. Cabin Fever follows on the boot heels of Lund’s 2009 New West debut, the critically acclaimed Losin’ Lately Gambler, his sixth album. The JUNO Award recipient, backed by his longtime band, The Hurtin’ Albertans – guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Grant Siemens, upright bassist Kurt Ciesla, and drummer Brady Valgardson – have recorded a slew of new songs: the regretful ballad “The One I Left in the Chamber,” the twangy paean to survival “(You Ain’t a Cowboy) If You Don’t Get Bucked Off,” and the yearning “September,” among them. When the whiskey bottle got passed around, things got raucous: “Drink It Like You Mean It” (‘nuff said); the apocalyptic “Gettin’ Down on the Mountain” (a roadhouse favorite), the blues-rockin’ “Dig Gravedigger Dig” (a tribute to the occupation of Grant Siemens’ brother), and the Sun Records-by-way of Betty Page-inspired “The Gothest Girl I Can.” They were joined by running buddy Hayes Carll, the Texas raconteur and songsmith who co-wrote and duets on the wily road tale, “Bible on the Dash.” Listening to the album’s acoustic banjo, guitar, and handclaps, as well as Lund’s Western-inspired songwriting, one can’t help but think the pared-down approach is yet another aspect of the Lund family tradition: After all, Lund learned to sing as a nipper when his grandfather taught him the campfire standard “Strawberry Roan,” which Grandpa Lund picked up via oral tradition from fellow trail hands. As for Corb Lund, his Western heritage stays with him, no matter where he roams. “My whole life is sort of a dichotomy between being a cowboy kid and living in a city,” says Lund. “I guess that informs my music too.” On Cabin Fever, that split personality burns bright.
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