With a gritty, gravelly voice, Mr. Anderson's latest opens with the title track – a dark, narrative song that's reminiscent of Steve Earle, with a dash of Tom Waits and maybe some Mark Lanegan, all good and fine company. But subsequent songs are more traditionally alt.country stuff, with much lighter and melodic material. The juxtaposing of the two is a little off-putting. More successful is the fine “Don't Look Back,” which synthesizes both of these styles quite nicely. “You Don't Live Here Anymore” is a haunting ballad with a well-placed guitar feedback drone and more plaintive vocal style, and “Red Shadows” is another excellent world-wise everyman tale that's stylish, memorable, and well-written. Despite a few minor setbacks, “The Reckoning” is a fine album of darkly-tinged Americana, and I like it. (Terra Soul)
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