the Halfsacks

They're probably not going to tell you anything you didn't already know. Theirs is a message without a whole lot of flash and dazzle. But sometimes, more than anything else, we just need to hear that "It'll be okay."

With their sophomore effort, an album enigmatically called "This matter is now closed," East Kootenay songsters the Halfsacks have delivered a simple message of reassurance. With a front cover sporting a black and white drawing of a cassette tape (remember those?), and a classic pastoral scene on the back, these guys seem to be deliberately trying to evoke a deep remembrance of simpler times… simpler tunes.

In a fast-track world of cell phones and iPods, online gaming, online shopping, online banking… online living, the Halfsacks are begging us to head out to Grandpa's old barn, dust off his battered old pick-me-up truck, slide the cassette into the deck with fingers crossed (that it won't eat the tape… again), and bounce on down those back-country roads to some old fashion tunage. Through a landscape of beautiful country (no whining please) and tumbling, jagged rocks, by the time you "Get on the Highway" just see if you might not agree that "It'll be okay."

The songs are short and sweet, 12 in all, perfectly suited to an attention-challenged populace. The total time for the album runs about 41 minutes, just like the good ol' days of vinyl, 20 minutes per side. The writing is straight at you, unpretentious. There's no hidden message here folks. It's just a toe-tappin', knee-slappin', drive-to-your-mother's-howse-for-yer-favorite-dinner kinda ride. I'll meetcha there. - Niels Kunze, editor of The Free Radical