*** Knife in the Water

RED RIVER

(Overcoat)

Knife in the Water may be named for an early Roman Polanski film, but Red River sounds more like the soundtrack to a Texas film noir than anything to do with the Howard Hawks classic. Guitarist Aaron Blount and organist Laura Krause sing of treachery, loss, and reflection, with sultry washes of pedal steel guitar from Bill McCullough framing the bleak emotions of these alterna-country gems. The stories range from "Rene," the tale of a hardboiled dame, to the acoustic rocker "Young Blood in the River," which sketches a transvestite prostitute's grim end. There's a distinct irony in the beauty that envelops the speed-addled characters and scorched scenery, and the graceful and steady pull of the music belies the down-and-out details that gather on the surface of each track. KITW have made huge strides in songwriting since their first (and hard to locate) self-released CD; Red River confirms them as knowing interpreters of the waltzy brand of country music that flourishes in Texas.

-- Lois Maffeo