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As the alt.country bandwagon's wheels begin to buckle beneath the weight of both originators and disciples, Granfaloon Bus seems to have overtaken on the inside lane, boosted by the combined creative talents of four musicians/songwriters and the collective spirits of legends both living and lost. Echoes of Gram Parsons and Neil Young may be discernible in the twin vocals of Felix Costanza and Ajax Green, (incendiary Young-esque guitar makes an impromptu appearance on Potboiler), but Grant Lee Buffalo roam among opener Seeded Clouds, Joe Ely strolls freely through Some Kind of Other Love and the host of musical exotica (Chinese trumpet, vibraphone, marimba, timpani etc) that pervade the album suggest a resolute desire to avoid the pitfalls of the depressing no-depression stereotype. With the sardonic wit and wordplay of Will Oldham and Smog, the left-field arrangements of Jim White and the musical aptitude of Joe Pernice, they possess sufficient fuel to make it under their own steam.

Matt Dornan
CWAS #4 - Winter 1998/9 - The Lost Issue

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