Country-rock in a plastic bag

Three on the Tree's debut album could be a recording of Wayne Coyne and Townes Van Zandt sitting in front of a nighttime fireplace trying to beat each other in a snoozing, country songwriting competition. So, obviously it's pretty music.\nThree on the Tree's songwriters, Zeb Gould and Sam Crawford, croon to the moon together as only suburban kids can, without much motivation, substance or political concerns. Is it too much to mention that Crawford speaks softly and without the syrupy drawl available on the album? Retreatism is a popular feeling these days, and Three on the Tree's brand of it is so earnest and the backing music interesting enough as to beat out any arguments one would bring up about non-action being a corroboration with evil. The only thing that feels contrived is the album's own compressed sound, but that can be blamed on cheap editing tools. It's been common now for country music to come out of urban landscapes, not to mention northern urban. Perhaps an increasingly technological world finds the disenfranchised looking for aural as well as mental safe harbors. Maybe that's science fiction though, and girls and friends are really the most important things in life.