Films for Radio

Working in the increasingly marginalized adult-contemporary-for-smart-people niche (think Cowboy Junkies, Tori Amos, Timbuk3, et al.), Over the Rhine create a musical landscape that is all floating echoed guitars and sincere thoughtful vocals over rhythms that modulate between the vaguely funky and staidly straightforward. Vocalist Karin Berquist and keyboardist-guitarist-songwriter Linford Detweiler impressively mirror the emptiness of modern life with the vacuous Films for Radio. There are elements of country, soul, and 4AD here, but Over the Rhine steadfastly refused to commit to any one form or genre in particular, instead opting for an aural smorgasbord that while vapid is oddly satisfying in its absolute blandness. While one might be better off with the Walkabouts' latest, Over the Rhine's Films for Radio is truly modern music that is just what it appears to be--shallow. --Mike Johnson