Smog-- "The Doctor Came at Dawn" (Drag City 95)

Smog (re: Bill Callahan) makes music for everyone who's ever checked into a hotel, heartbroken with nothing but the shirt on their back. Hell, if it weren't for the piano and cello on The Doctor Came at Dawn, Callahan could have recorded this one late at night in a Motel 6.

And that's where Doctor departs from 1995's Wild Love. Abandoning the synth hooks and quirky experimentation of Wild Love (not to mention the drumming altogether), Doctor favors minimalist instrumentation, giving the album its sparse and haunting feel.

Throughout, Callahan deadpans obsessive but humorous lines like "And I hope you don't mind / If I grab your private life / Slap it on the table / And Split it with a knife." From beginning to end, Doctor is a dark journey into the inner workings of Callahan's mind, and it's best played softly on a sleepless night alone, when you can't get that elusive someone out of your head.

--- Stephen Head

(Smog will play the Tokyo Rose in Charlottesville on June 17).