Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell

Begonias

Yep Rock records

Four out of five stars

The magic of the heart-wrenching alt-country Whiskeytown recordings of yore-once thought long gone-has been revived.

Whiskeytown alumna Caitlin Cary and her country friend Thad Cockrell have joined forces to bring to life the simple heartbreak and serene harmonies first seen in the work of pre-millenium Ryan Adams and his Whiskey-soaked former band.

Cockrell, known for putting “the hurt back in country,” blends his sorrowful voice with Cary’s angelic yodel to convey the pain of heartache the way only country music can.

The melancholy song “Please Break My Heart” came about as a result of a complaint between the two artists regarding how difficult it is to write a song when happy.

Carry’s solution?

“I wish somebody would break my heart, just for a minute, so I could get five good songs out of it.”

Cockrell jumped on this idea and returned the next day with the lyrics for Begonias’ fourth track, a duet about the potential joy and pain of love.

The rest of the album runs with this martyrdome of love and executes its tragedies with skill, twang and sorrow-beautiful, beautiful sorrow.

For once, die-hard Whiskeytown fans have a momentary fix for their nostalgic cravings for “old” Ryan Adams-Begonias is a must-have for the dire of heart.

Dana Green