Heron King Blues - Califone (2004)
Chicago is one of the original homes of the northern electric blues. Later on, it’s been home to the 90s anti-Nashville movement people called “insurgent country” as well as long having hosted a vast array of experimental artists dabbling in country, blues, and folk with more modern post rock approaches. Califone are veterans of this hyper-eclectic thread, and have built something that’s modern but still sits firmly in older traditions.
Heavy on open-ended exploration, the band sculpts that into more recognizable songs (most of the time).
The sounds on the first half are bluesy and acoustic most of the time, but with some studio and electronic effects that make the sound distinctive.
That flips on its head a bit on the back half, especially the feature-length 15 minute title track. The sound here leans into electric rock and funk and is quite a marked departure from the eerie calm of the first few tracks.
