What’s a veteran alt-country band to do? The Jayhawks’ Hollywood Town Hall (1992) and Tomorrow The Green Grass (1995) are two of the genre’s defining works, on par with Wilco’s Being There or Whiskeytown’s Faithless Street. Gary Louris has always had a knack for crafting melodies that roll gently and familiarly. Jayhawks fans will find a comfortable space in the world of Paging Mr. Proust, the band’s ninth album.
Although original co-leader Marc Olsen is not in the fold, the LP gets an extra kick from the participation of co-producer Peter Buck, who also drafted pals Mike Mills and Scott McCaughey for cameos. Paging Mr. Proust has a literary bent, with allusions to David Foster Wallace, Robert Frost and other writers. It stretches out with one distorted guitar jam (“Ace”) and the jangly garage rock of “The Dust Of Long-Dead Stars.” The Jayhawks have always sounded nostalgic, but Paging Mr. Proust proves there’s still vitality in the tried and true.
—Steve Klinge
