Golden Smog

Somewhere around the fourth song of Another Fine Day,Golden Smog finally appears, for the first time ever, as a real band. For years the collective — moonlighting members of the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Big Star, and Wilco — has offered occasional strains of genius epitomizing the capricious charm of a "supergroup." But when Jeff Tweedy and former Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris embark on "Long Time Ago" over casually strummed acoustic guitars, the alarm bell sounds: It's nearly halfway through the record and there isn't a single tossed-off tune. The abundance of songwriting and lack of tongue-in-cheek shenanigans makes Another Fine Day Golden Smog's most earnest record by a long shot, as the disparate group of songwriters all look to sun-washed '70s pop for inspiration. With vintage synths and arching hooks, tunes like "I Can" and "Cure for This" proves Golden Smog is more than a group of guys from great bands. It's a great band itself.