Southerly's "Cold Caller" opens with a beguiling combination, as clanging piano, bass and guitar merge around bandleader Krist Krueger's burst of attitude: "I got nothing to say / at least to you anyway." When an organ joins the fray four-fifths of the way through, it's clear that this is one of those songs that require multiple listens.
An Oregon-based singer, songwriter and recording engineer, Krueger spent years recording as a solo artist under the Southerly name, until he finally incorporated a full band in 2006. (The fine new Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist features a few touring regulars to accompany Krueger, who also plays organ, banjo, keyboard, accordion and more.) "Cold Caller" in many ways epitomizes everything that makes Storyteller & The Gossip Columnist sound so fresh: Even with a chorus built around little more than repetition of "doo doo doo," Krueger turns the familiar into something fun and mysterious.
Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'
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