Only 10 months since the release of Quicksand/Cradlesnakes, their most ambitious album to date, Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella formerly of the indie rock legends Red Red Meat and now working under the title of Califone, have
released Heron King Blues; an inconsistent even though pleasant piece of work. This new album starts off as great as their last album with "Wingbone" and "Trick Bird," two fantastic sparse acoustic rockers that play to their
advantage, which is distant vocals, hushed acoustics and odd psychedelic noises that recall other great artists such as Bonnie Prince Billy and Papa M. But slowly as Heron King Blues starts to wind down, it becomes more of an effort to listen to than it's worth. "2 Sisters Drunk On Each Other" is a 17 minute freak out rock monster that is intriguing at first, but becomes more tedious with every dragged out passing minute. And the same goes for the
ending self-titled track. Fans of the indie rock genre will definitely embrace this new album with open arms, but mainstream listeners would
probably dismiss this as just a bland noisy folk duo.