Knock Knock

Smog: Bill Callahan.
Will Bill Callahan (a.k.a. Smog) be known as the man who made his reputation as a melancholy lo-fi painter of bleak, sonic landscapes, accompanied by a children's choir? Believe it or not the massed, angelic kids' voices are an integral element of a couple of tracks on KNOCK KNOCK. Since graduating from the four-track school of audio hard knocks, Smog's releases have become more and more fully realized. This process reaches its apex on KNOCK KNOCK, the most unabashedly lush recording of Callahan's prolific career. In addition to the choir, Callahan's almost pastoral arrangements are colored by strings, and even his lyrical outlook seems to have shifted towards the sunnier side. Make no mistake, though--he's not happy, just less miserable, which means he stills hits the mark that Smog fans look for in their hero's work.