By Jessica Renk
I was worried that with a name like Up the Chain I was in for speed metal, so I was happy when I heard upbeat Americana pop, but not happy enough to gush. Holy, open, drying road is a mixed bag. Some tracks score, like How you feel about traveling, a feel-good number that brings in the horn section (thank you!) and "The Fear is Loud", a wistful ballad featuring heartfelt vocals, but other songs on here sound like run-of-the-mill indie fluff. Either way, props to Up to the chain for having the balls to mix tango and polka in a single song.
Rating: Listenable
