Editor’s note: This article is excerpt from the liner notes accompanying The Whole Enchilada, a three-album compilation of Tucson desert rock from 1978 to 1994..
The Dream Syndicate will kick off promotion of their next album with a string of performances at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, this March.
Chris Eckman recently resurfaced with the song “Then There’s the Rain” on Seattle label
Drums & Wires Recordings’ thoughtfully curated first compilation
Songs Collected. It was the sumptuous heart of the already generous sampler, feeling both more holy and grittier than anything it accompanied.
As Trouser Press once described his work with his most well-known band
The Walkabouts, it showcased his
“darkly layered sound … mining a rich shadowy strain of Americana.” I thought “Then There’s the Rain” was going to be one of my very favorite singles of the year, to put into playlists as a survivor’s romantic reminder of the existential valley we barely escaped. And that would be that.