Majestic Root

Smack Dab's Majestic Root takes a severe turn from the essentially pop structures that defined Queen Crab -- the songs on their second album find a simplistic combination of indie and country conventions, layered with slide guitars, dulcimers, and a generally rustic shuffle. The result is a record that's probably better than Queen Crab, but slightly more irritating as well -- while Linda Hagood's abrasively childlike vocals meshed well with the pop structures of Queen Crab, they clash with the more sophisticated production of Majestic Root in a way that's likely to turn off the unwarned listener.