The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviews or reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
Ramblin' Man EP
[V2, 2005]

A former member of Belle and Sebastian and a current stone-age queen get together to do some country-folk. It's a surprising pairing, but one that works on this full-length teaser. The duo's at their best when sharing vocal duties. Lanegan's rough edges find a good foil in Campbell's soft croon, and the match increases the lyrics tension in their new take on Hank Williams's "Ramblin' Man." The two tracks on which Campbell handles the vocals alone take on a hazy feel, with Lanegan's guitar on "Revolver — Pt. 2" providing a level of anxiety that itself creates stronger emotion than any of the album's lyrical turns.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Okkervil River
Black Sheep Boy Appendix
[Jagjaguwar, 2005]

Okkervil River had messages and images they couldn't contain even in Black Sheep Boy, one of the year's best releases. A work like that needed an appendix, and here it is, 25 minutes of literate rock with ever-expanding musical ideas. Will Sheff and his overlooked bandmates string together a series of songs that turn on childhood (or parental) nightmares, pass through death (apparently), explore fatalism, and ultimately find hope. Even denser than its forerunner, Appendix resolves some key themes without losing the scintillating complexity of the first album, all the while pounding at as many emotional triggers. After all the explorations of evil, loss, and hurt, Okkervil River leaves us with a halted river, a blessing, and a stunning release.
[Justin Cober-Lake]