Oakley Hall's second album is an unencumbered affair that pulls the same trick as other sophomore-slump trumps-- R.E.M.'s Reckoning, perhaps, or Talking Heads' More Songs About Buildings And Food-- by doing what the band does best, and doing it quickly. The record lacks the attention to detail that marked Oakley Hall's self-titled debut, but it makes up the difference by distilling the band's sound to its most engaging elements.
The Hall are led by former Oneida guitarist Pat Sullivan (aka Papa Crazee), who applies his former band's studied patience and fearless blending of genre to Oakley Hall's rustic sound. Second Guessing revels in the clichés of country and stretches them, like a perpetual jam session that never loses its focus or energy. They're the perfect antidote for dabbling rock fans who "only like real country, like Johnny Cash," or a revelation to those who thought Neil Young's "Down by the River" was too short.
Even with their jam-tastic approach, Second Guessing is still plenty palatable. It effortlessly merges a sincere love of country-rock with a band that gets restless easily. There's always a drumbeat quickening the pulse or a tasteful guitar solo carrying the listener from one section to the next. They make the gutsy choice of opening on their longest track, "Hiway", with a dirty, distorted guitar that runs underneath it, and the automotive love song "Eyes, Lock, and Steel", cements Oakley Hall as scruffy miscreants-- even as Sullivan and lead singer Rachel Cox belt out harmonies like true professionals.
The creaky vocal to the slower, squeakier "Adalina Roselma Lapage" almost falls from its hinges, with comically spiteful lyrics ("she makes me feel like a high school kid/ High school sucked") and a protagonist who yearns to be "any other place but lookin' at your dome." It's a highlight that incorporates the band's offbeat charm without losing their earnestness. They show off their wistful side later in the album with "Mumbles", rage against the Man in "Landlord", and grow party-weary despite the energetic pace of "Volume Rambler".
The risk of this approach is that without much variation or any huge standout tracks, the mood gets monochromatic. The record remains remarkably consistent, however, and with their third record, Gypsum Strings, due in June, maybe Oakley Hall have already widened past the rural-highway tunnel vision of Second Guessing.
