Twilight Hotel

Exclaim: Review of Highway Prayer

Although they hail from Winnipeg, MB, the mood of this second album from the folk/blues duo comprised of Dave Quanbury and Brandy Zdan is solidly rooted in the Deep South. Credit for this can partially go to producer Colin Linden (Blackie & the Rodeo Kings), who invited the pair to record at his Nashville studio, but the steamy vibe only accentuates Highway Prayer’s 12 richly detailed tales from the other side of the tracks. Both Quanbury and Zdan contribute equally to the writing, giving the songs alternating perspectives, and when they duet on “Impatient Love” and “Sand In Your Eyes,” the results are classic country weepers. But overall, the album shows the ease with which the pair can toss off intensely dark narratives, as on “Iowalta Morningside,” and “The Ballad Of Salvador And Isabelle.” Like fellow Winnipegger Luke Doucet, Twilight Hotel take strong cues from Tom Waits, but the undeniable chemistry between Quanbury and Zdan, along with some high-powered musical backing from Linden on slide guitar, and the final appearance from late keyboardist Richard Bell, makes Highway Prayer endlessly compelling.

Review of Highway Prayer by Jason Schnieder, Exclaim, March 2008