Golden Smog

Golden Smog is probably the closest thing alt-country has to a supergroup. Originally formed as a one-off with aliases in 1992, the band — now including Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, Run Westy Run’s Kraig Johnson and Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy — has a songwriting track record as impressive (if as inconsistent) as that of Ryan Adams. The new Another Fine Day joins the ad-hoc outfit’s 1996 album, Down by the Old Mainstream, in transcending the limits of side projects. Day is all over the map stylistically, but each song flows together seamlessly. Driven by a waltzing piano, “You Make It Easy” is a pop gem, and the acoustic ballad “Long Time Ago” shows that, despite Wilco’s avant tendencies, Tweedy still knows how to write a simple folk song. Day‘s highlight is Tweedy and Louris’ duet of Dave Davies’ “Strangers,” which lends new emotional impact to the Kinks guitarist’s classic track.