Twilight Hotel

Review: The Ottawa Citizen

3 1/2

For an album that bounds out of the gate with Viva la Vinyl, a rockabilly/ scat tribute to analog music, Highway Prayer turns pretty dark pretty fast. By the mid-way point, we’ve met a female miner who packs a screwdriver in her boot as protection against male co-workers, watched crows lunching on road kill, and seen a Mexican brother and sister destroyed after jumping the border in search of a better life.

“Sorrow and heartache make better songs than love,” as Winnipeg’s Brandy Zdan and Dave Quanbury, a.k.a. Twilight Hotel, sing in Sand In Your Eyes. Smart musicians both, they wrap their predominantly bleak lyrics and fine harmonies in an engaging mix that ranges from blues to classic country.

Their accompanists include the late Richard Bell (Janis Joplin, The Band) on organ and producer Colin Linden on guitar, dobro and bass. Graciously, Twilight Hotel turns the last track over to Bell and Linden for a sweet instrumental duet.

Review of Highway Prayer by Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, ON, Feb 28, 2008