Invariable Heartache (Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell Present Kort) [Bonus Edition]

Kort, a collaboration of Nashville outsiders — Lambchop leader Kurt Wagner and electronic pop artist Cortney Tidwell — performing traditional obscure country music, is a respectful tribute to a music that has long strayed from its roots. The guitars are crisp and clear. The drums kick without silly enhancements and the vocals wrap around one another as if they’d spent their lives entwined. Tidwell’s grandfather ran Chart Records and her mother recorded for it. Most of the tunes are culled from this overlooked place. There are sweet ballads and mid-tempos (“Incredibly Lonely,” “Eyes Look Away,” “A Special Day”), clever country insights (“He's Only a Memory Away,” “I Can’t Sleep With You”) and even a touch of soul balladry (“Yours Forever”) and novelty (“Pickin’ Wild Mountain Berries”). “Penetration” rocks out on the freaky side. They sound like a classic country couple and the band — members of both Lambchop and Tidwell’s backing group – play it beautifully straight throughout, like true ‘60s Nashville studio pros.  The Bonus Edition features “Today,” another stunning ballad.