Fourth of July on the Plains

Awash in a love of Dylan, Townes, and Kitty Wells (as much as Silver Jews, Papa M, and Palace), Brendan Hangauer's songs are full of intimate interactions, cutting observations, and dreamy, heartfelt candor. But as soon as they're brought to the band, the songs explode into amplified urgency and bold, bright heartland pop. The band is from Lawrence, Kansas, and making music there is an end in itself. Friends play together for the joy of it. Songs are written after the bars close. Raw, ramshackle live shows cap hours of daydreaming in holding pattern jobs. This record shines a light on all of it; the young and searching, nights of drinking too much, and the escapes into (and sometimes from) the arms of lovers.