I have to admit that when I ordered this album, I was pretty damn drunk. However, the reasoning behind my order was sound. I loved the Wanda Jackson tribute album, Hard-Headed Woman, put out by Bloodshot Records. And my favorite track on the album was easily "Weary Blues from Waiting" by Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. That night, sitting at my computer, listening to this song, I couldn't believe that I didn't have any Jesse Sykes albums. So I ordered one.

And completely forgot about it.

When it arrived, I tried to remember what I had ordered in a drunken state (which is how I order most of the things I get through the mail). I knew it was something awesome. Then it hit me. I tore the sucker open, eager to hear the sweet, sexy voice of Jesse Sykes.

Man, was I disappointed.

See, "Weary Blues from Waiting" is a great song originally performed by one of my favorite artists. And when Jesse Sykes sings it in her weird husky drawl, backed by guitarist Phil Wandscher of another of my favorite bands, Whiskeytown, and violinist Anne Marie Ruljancich, who has worked with yet another of my favorite bands, The Shins, it's just exquisite. Every line is delivered with a velvet hammer blow; I can't stop my mind from repeating "The snow falls out my window/But it can't chill my heart/God knows it died the day you left/And my dreamworld fell apart."

So the build-up was great, and at that particular moment, in the hubbub of a gorgeous day with happiness all around me and the bright afternoon sunlight pouring in through the window, the reality fell short. But I wasn't ready to give up.

Sitting in a desk chair, hunched over, pouring over the lyrics sheet is simply not the way to listen to Jesse Sykes. It wasn't how I fell in love with her Wanda Jackson cover, and it certainly didn't work for this album. I gave it a few days. And then I listened to it again, at 4am, drinking coffee next to a dim light, dreading the thought of going to work. And this time, yes, it was beautiful.

A person could compare Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter to a lot of other bands. Mazzy Star immediately comes to mind, as does Iron & Wine, Cowboy Junkies and Wilco. It's "dark Americana" music--dreamy, sad, and, yes, slightly prententious, with a countrified edge.

Sykes' voice is what holds it all together. Somewhere back in the recesses of my memory, I recall the notion that Anglo-Saxon ballads evolved into country/western music by way of the people who sailed across the Atlantic and then headed off into the Appalaichan wilderness to live life on their own. They brought the old music, they brought the old culture, and they kept it alive. A native of Upstate New York, Sykes' accent is at once hillbilly and UK, bringing to mind Billy Bragg's renditions of Woody Guthrie songs that he did for Mermaid Avenue.

This isn't music for just any time. But at the right time, it's luscious. And perfect.