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SHANNON MCNALLY AND NEAL CASAL
Ran on Pure Lightning Fargo Records ****

Just like the buses. You spend half your life waiting for a decent country duets album and then two come along together. Hot on the heels of Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell's excellent Begonias comes this honey of a mini-album - all lonely steel guitars and Dobros, bottles of regret and voices of sweet sadness. McNally is a much-lauded American singer-songwriter whose two albums have yet to surface over here, while Casal is a veteran of the same genre who lately has taken to driving a power blues/soul trio, Hazy Malaze. The songs are mainly by McNally, but Casal's low-key production is at the core of the warm informality that permeates all eight tracks. McNally's voice has real presence. Check it out on the smoky opener, Pale Moon, or the ghostly Brings Me Back to You. www.fargorecords.com  Joe Breen