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With open, haunting music reminiscent of the desolate west Texas sky, Lubbock based Thrift Store Cowboys have captivated audiences from coast to coast with their dark, subtle lyrics and a blending of soaring violin draped against bottom-ended guitar and pedal steel sounds that spaghetti Western composer Ennio Morricone might envy. Following in the unique footsteps of a Lubbock legacy started by Buddy Holly, The Flatlanders, and Terry Allen, Thrift Store Cowboys add their own modern influences and flavor to the already rich musical heritage. Their new album, Lay Low While Crawling or Creeping, was recorded at Wavelab Studios in Tucson, Arizona, and produced by Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Iron and Wine, Neko Case.) The album will be released nationally in November 2006.

Thrift Store Cowboys Press:

"All Songs Considered: A Band to Call Your Own"

- NPR

"If Sergio Leone had hired a band to soundtrack an Italian bisexual porn Western, or maybe an adaptation of Lolita set in Deadwood, this is the first band he'd have called."

- Santa Fe Reporter

" Where have the Thrift Store Cowboys been all my life? In Lubbock, Texas, and environs, playing their beautiful rootsy, even surfy sound."

- L.A. Weekly

"Upon first listen, your eyes are taken to a place of desolation, desert, and open spaces. Little Texas towns where the Friday night hangout is a Sonic and the VFW is the local watering hole. Thrift Store Cowboys earnest melodies from Amanda Shires and Daniel Fluitt create the same energy that Caitlin Cary and Ryan Adams were able to create when they were changing the rules in a scene that many have long forgotten. The Americana scene isn’t what is once was, but we have some new direction now. The perfect culmination of violin, glockenspiel, accordion, banjo, hammond, pedal steel guitar, Weissenborn, lap steel, saw, and Wurlitzer create the perfect dust storm of twang. The Red Raider lovin’ Thrift Store Cowboys are galloping on some new dusty trails that are worth check out tonight at the Hi-Dive."

- Cause = Time Blog

It's a neat trick to pull off ambient-gothic-western music, and the Thrift Store Cowboys have been doing it in a unique and spectacular manner for about 10 years now. The Lubbock-based indie band has released a small number of excellent albums and has toured the country a number of times, all the while garnering more and more positive press. The band released their most recent album, Lay Low While Crawling or Creeping, in 2006. After three years, it is, indeed, about time for a new record, but the band suffered a setback earlier this year when someone set fire to the home of two of the band members. So, until TSC can pull it together and finish a new record, check out the genius of Lay Low... It's a haunting and lonesome blend of baritone guitars, sweeping fiddle, understated vocals, and tasty atmospherics.

- Napster

"The headliners this night, however, Thrift Store Cowboys, came off on those sticky speakers at least a little bit better. Hailing from Lubbock, Tex., these guys drew a small but loyal crew of Texas transplants out for a late Sunday night of roadhouse-like country rock. Shires used to play fiddle for them before striking out to Nashville on her own. The tour they're on now means a reunion of sorts, and I could tell both she and the band enjoyed being back on the road together for a spell. Of course, even though their music rocked quite a bit harder than Shires', the sound system still left a bit to be desired. Can't fault the band, though, their energy and musicianship was tight.

- No Depression

"Well, of course country music is bound to spring up in Lubbock. The town enjoys three factors that make it so: a legacy of music, a desolate Western environment and the desparation of sheer boredom, all three of which imbue the population with a latent impulse to create music by which to scoot boots and kick shit. No surprise there. What comes as a surprise, however, is when the land that breeds tumbleweeds, cotton and redneck Red Raiders also sprouts a band of rare cerebral depth combined with salt-of-the-earth genuineness. Lubbock's Thrift Store Cowboys are that band, as comfortable in an indie club as a honky-tonk, edgy yet traditional. Call it experimental country. Take the band's "Dirtied Your Knees," off their latest album, Lay Low While Crawling or Creeping, which kicks off with a drone-y banjo hum underlying the minimal plucking of another banjo. The effect is something like an orchestra warming up, until the tune eases its way into a rootsy midtempo rocker. "Sidewalk Song," meantime, evokes Mazzy Star as much as Merle Haggard, with its slow 3/4 time, luscious fiddle and high-gain, delayed guitar—proof there's more to Lubbock than dust devils and Bobby Knight."

- Dallas Observer

"Resisting the temptation to sound like so many other youthful roots bands in Texas - heavy on the country-rock melange - or strictly indie rock, Thrift Store Cowboys' feel is more, for a lack of a better description, gypsy desert music - the free sound of spacey, heat-induced delirium, if that makes sense. It's a sure, confident sound backed by thoughtful vision and seemingly thoughtful lyrics."

- Buddy Magazine

All Good Cafe - Dallas

Thanks for the video Juli

HELP THE BAND RECOVER FROM THE HOUSE FIRE

In case you hadn't heard TSC recently fell victim to a house fire as a result of arson! We are currently accepting donations to help recover some of the loss. All donations will be through Paypal so that your information will be kept private. Many many thanks to those of you who have supported the band.

Merchandise

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(2009 release)

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 (2001 release)        (2003 release)      (2006 release)