by Cowboy Junkies
1996, Geffen Records

the sound: Every album from alt-country band Cowboy Junkies is dark and lovely, but “Lay It Down,” the band’s seventh, is the most ominous and beautiful. Driven by heavy bass lines to match singer Margo Timmins’ low, lush voice, the album plays like a Flannery O’Connor story, full of bittersweet lyrics bemoaning the hardships of love and life. The songs are almost anachronistic, conjuring images of dust storms, flat plains and cars with long running boards. The opening track, “Something More besides You,” has a woman questioning what life would be like if she wasn’t trapped in her marriage. “A Common Disaster” is one of the album’s few up-tempo songs, with three chords resonating over and over as Timmins sings of the lull of temptation. “Going to find me someone to share a common disaster / Run away with me from a life so cramped and dull / Not worry to much about the happily ever after / Just keep the Caddy moving till we’re well beyond that hill.” The album’s title track, “Lay It Down,” narrates the unraveling of a man’s life and his desire for everything to end. “Angel Mine” is a sweet love song, with Timmins purr-singing “I can’t promise that I’ll grow those wings or keep this tarnished halo shined / But I’ll never betray your trust, angel mine” over a light melody. The album is also home to two versions of “Come Calling,” both with the same lyrics about love slipping away, but with extremely different musical compositions. “Speaking Confidentially” is quick-paced, with violins complementing a guitar-heavy beat.

the background: A family affair, Cowboy Junkies was formed in Toronto in 1985 by siblings Michael, Margo and Peter Timmins, along with Alan Anton. The band claims the name Cowboy Junkies means nothing, just a last-minute decision before a show. After gaining attention playing local bars, the band released its first album, “Whites off Earth,” in 1986, followed by its biggest commercial success, “The Trinity Sessions,” in 1987. Subsequent releases have garnered modest attention and Juno-award nominations.

the significance: A great album in the midst of economic woes. Perhaps the band’s often bleak lyrics are due to the siblings having grown up in cold Canadian surroundings, the descendants of miners. “Musical Key” is an ode to the Timmins’ mother, about her hands and eyes speaking more than her voice. The album’s greatest track, “Now I Know,” is a raw nerve of a song in which Timmins warbles about love lost over a strumming guitar. “Grief is a word to describe the absence of feeling / Now I know, now I know, now I know what it means to be broken.” Ah, nothing like a refreshing kick to the heart to let you know you’re alive. Cowboy Junkies continue to record albums and tour. In 2007, the band recorded “Trinity Revisited,” with several guest appearances and accompanied by a film of the making of the album.