Death Songs for the Living

Sun Volt's Jay Farrar and Varnaline's Anders Parker recorded this collection of traditional American folk songs between recording sessions for their main bands, and the results are spine-tingling (and as good as anything they've recorded separately). The duo deftly reworks folk standards previously recorded by luminaries like the Stanley Brothers and Ramblin' Jack Elliot, imbuing these often dark tales with an easy and non-melodramatic grace. Farrar's one original, the bluesy "Buzz and Grind," fits right in, sounding like one of the Band's sultrier numbers.