I’m pretty sure this record was already reviewed in Razorcake, or that it was in somebody’s Top 5 or something, which means that it was well-liked. It’s quite possible that sometimes people do Top 5’s of things they don’t like, but if I recall correctly, that was not the case with this State Lottery record. I’m glad about that, because I fear my review will not do the record justice, just because it’s not really my thing. It’s kind of a rock’n’roll-y, folk-y record, and I think it’s well done. It just didn’t turn my crank. I liked the first song on the first side pretty well, and the first song on the second side, and throughout the LP none of the songs dismayed me or anything like that, but one issue I had was with the singer’s voice—at first I didn’t like it at all (too frail sounding), then I thought, “It’s growing on me”, then I decided no, I don’t really care for it…and so on. Overall, it would have been great if it packed more of a punch, because I think they’re a good band and they have a lot of nice lyrics (a favorite being: “We’ve declared endless war armed with the infantile concept of good vs. bad. What is this, kindergarten class?”). I enjoyed when Rachel Parsons lent a hand with the vocals and there were some nice horn and harmonica parts. Additional points for the gorgeous painting on the cover. Fans of Americana style music should give it a listen.
–Jennifer Federico (Salinas)