Solid country-rock on soundtrack

The music that exploded into rock in the '60s continued to move further away from its roots through the years. In a similar way, the small towns and dusty roads where this music was born are slowly becoming nothing more than an echo in the music of today. The Slaughter Rule Soundtrack captures the raw sounds of small mid-Western towns and music of the lonely roads that signal freedom as much as separation from the rest of the world. It's a little less bluegrass than O Brother Where Art Thou?, but every bit as authentic. The album features some solid traditional country-folk and some of its most convincing followers. Interspersed throughout, Jay Farrar's instrumentals are sparse and moody, if a little too clean at points. Mostly, his contributions are used as the setting rather than the story itself. The Malcolm Holcombe Group, Blood Oranges and Gram Parsons ("Blue Eyes" covered by Uncle Tupelo) hit the target dead on. Even Ryan Adams sounds sincere for the first time in several albums. Though it appears to be mostly about the heartbreak that can only be delivered in a desolate town with no way out, there's a certain beauty and pride in The Slaughter Rule.