Posted on: January 4, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Funny that you have to go to Brooklyn to find one of the best Americana bands playing today.

The New York band The Habit, with several singers brings to mind everyone from Gram Parsons and The Jayhawks to Whiskeytown and The Cowboy Junkies, on their fantastic debut Lincoln Has Won. Excelling at dirty rock (“Ballad Of,” “Don’t Grow Old Young Man”), beautiful indie rock (“Not Brooklyn”) and dusty Americana (“Blood on the Saddle”).

Though the band is wholly original you can’t help but spot the myriad influences that The Habit draws on from time to time. Along with those already mentioned, you can also hear traces of The Pogues and The Carter Family and any number of great story tellers from Townes Van Zandt to Bob Dylan. Lincoln Has Won feels timeless in its themes, leaving many of the topics open to debate. And to think this all came out of Hipsterville, USA.

The Habit – Lincoln Has Won/12 tracks/Reel to Reel/2010

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