Middle of Everywhere

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss Pokey LaFarge as just another retro poseur, zoot-suiting his way onto the old-time bandwagon that's sweeping the planet. But you'd be missing some of the most quirkily appealing acoustic music being made in America these days. St Louisborn LaFarge plays guitar, banjo and the hybrid guitjo, and his talented trio – Joey Glynn on bass, Adam Hoskins on guitar and lap-steel and Ryan Koenig on drums, washboard and harmonica – blend together tasty bits of early 20th century American popular idioms. Dixieland, ragtime, vaudevillian vamp, hillbilly swing and honky-tonk blues are all mixed into a rollicking concoction that sounds like a cross between Leon Redbone, Hank Williams and Spike Jones.

Admittedly, LaFarge's voice – a pinched, nasally countertenor – is as quirky as his music, and works better on some songs, like the frenetically paced ‘So Long Honeybee’, than it does on others. Despite this quibble, Middle of Everywhere offers an abundance of cleverly spun lyrical hooks, instrumental wizardry (especially Koenig's harmonica) and zany, irresistible energy.