COWBOY JUNKIES

Demons: The Nomad Series, Volume 2

[Latent/Razor & Tie]

Beloved Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt took his own life last year, leaving behind a quirky, richly poetic body of work that dazzled fans and made his songwriter peers shake their heads in awe. On this striking covers disc, Cowboy Junkies achieve the near-impossible feat of framing Chesnutt’s songs in more palatable settings while preserving the off-kilter beauty and mystique that lies at their core. “See You Around” finds singer Margo Timmins’ velvety pipes wrapped in strummed guitars and swirling organ, “Ladle” boasts a spooky mood that erupts into a Crazy Horse-style guitar maelstrom in the chorus, and “Strange Language” rocks Chesnutt’s biting humor with a vengeance. The inclusion of a lighthearted spoken-word segment from Chesnutt himself lends poignancy and levity. At the time of Chesnutt’s death, he and the Junkies were toying with the idea of making an album together. Demons offers a hint at what we missed. –RH