Album Review
Cowboy Junkies
All That Reckoning
Latent
Led by singer Margo Timmins and her brother, guitarist and songwriter Michael Timmins, Canada’s Cowboy Junkies have been making distinctive, brooding folk-pop for more than three decades. Though best known for their breakthrough second album, The Trinity Session, the group has been remarkably consistent over the years, spinning understated tales of endless longing and occasional fulfillment that rely on the elegant gravity of Timmins’ commanding voice. All That Reckoning ranks among the band’s best, reaffirming the subtle vitality of their familiar lulling sound, along with offering a few arresting wrinkles. “The Things We Do” reflects real-world madness, noting, “Fear is not so far from hate,” while the stinging rockers “Sing Me a Song” and “Missing Children” prove the quartet can get a bit rowdy when the mood strikes. Still, Cowboy Junkies’ music remains the ultimate after-midnight soundtrack for confronting demons and trying to find answers to the big questions.
