4 - Centro-matic / South San Gabriel
Dual Hawks (168.5)
Will Johnson is the great unsung songwriter of the 21st century, producing one gem after another consistently over the past decade. While the Centro-Matic album hits the right spot most of the time, the South San Gabriel record finds a band at the peak of their creative powers producing beautifully, sad, reflective music. If you like your alt.country with cellos and pedal steel, this is for you. – Boxcar Trev (10)
Not the strongest effort from either groups' canon, but still solid enough to get the top spot. – Bill (10)
A Will Johnson fan couldn't ask for anything more in 2008 as he graced us with not one, but two amazing albums all wrapped up in one nice package. A perfect yin yang release, Dual Hawks give us the fuzzed-out pop goodness of Centro-Matic and the naked and sad beauty of South San Gabriel. And while the Centro-Matic disc is the better of the two, the SSG disc serves as the perfect complement to it. – Acuff-Rose (9)
The Centro-Matic side of this album may only be somewhat appealing, but that is more than made up for by the absolutely stunning South San Gabriel disc. That half alone makes this album worthy of very high praise. Will Johnson has made it known that whenever a South San Gabriel release comes, people should take notice. This ranks right at the top of the list as far as his work is concerned. – Jesse Aaron (8)
These guys baffle me. How they aren't household names is beyond me. Amazing double disc...One of my favorite songwriters in the world. SO much great stuff here. – Nvlowden (8)
I initially liked the Centro-matic side more. Then it was the South San Gabriel side. Now I can't decide...which means there is a ton of great stuff from both bands on these discs. Most artists' double albums would be loaded with filler, but this is Will Johnson we're talking about. Really great stuff. – Melt (7)
Was great to see them live...had to buy t-shirts instead of albums since their distributor had messed up...but got it now...ssg-girl, me... – Yankeegirl (6)
Sandusky (9), Hap (9), TravelBySea (9), Machine (8), Warren1 (8), Dead Man Saloon (7), Doug (7), Jackstraw (7), Steve Stringer (7), Wellstone (7), Blaise (6), Nacho (6), Mullethaiku (5.5), Blackeyedhobo (5), Howard (5), Noteethleroy (5)
