Cub Country: Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile

“On Yer Own”, the opener of Cub Country’s latest, Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile, seamlessly incorporates quite a variety of texture in its four-minute span. From the pulse-quickening drum stomp and feedback of its initial moments to the brief but distant pedal steel and warm, satisfying harmonies, the track suggests a collision of Crazy Horse and the Stray Gators. That encouraging promise isn’t quite lived up to throughout the rest of the release, with the bulk of the album dominated by pleasant, countrified ambles like “Lone Tall Pines” and “Smith-Level”, but that isn’t such a bad deal. Jeremy Chatelain writes and sings some fine melodies, high and lonesome, calm and mellow, and there isn’t a moment on the album that rings hollow or false.