C12

Wilfred Langmaid
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The Minus 5: Killingsworth - Yep Roc / Outside

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Scott McCaughey is a little-known music veteran who has multiple careers.

His work hits most people's ears by virtue of his many years as a sideman with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members REM.

He also is a long-standing member of the Young Fresh Fellows; that quartet has just released a new album I Think

This Is to coincide with their 20th anniversary.

To boot, he collaborated with fellow music vet and fellow baseball fanatic Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate on last year's wonderful The Baseball Project album.

Seattle native McCaughey's own moments as a frontman are rare treats that he seems to occasionally bring to fruition as his busy schedule allows.

Over the span of the past decade and a half, members of Pearl Jam, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, the Decemberists, and Guided By Voices have taken turns collaborating with McCaughey in a collective called The Minus 5.

A constant in this collective, meanwhile, has been long-time friend and REM charter member Peter Buck.

The eighth album under the Minus 5 moniker, and the first since 2005, is the newly released Killingsworth.

This time around, McCaughey is joined by both Buck and the bulk of The Decemberists.

However, this is not REM, and it is most certainly not The Decemberists. It is another blend of classic '60s and '70s pop and rock with alt country spices - all set off with the quirky twists of McCaughey's lyrical vignettes.

He is a very able frontman, and fans of the genre will love what is his labour of love right back.

Fredericton-based freelance writer Wilfred Langmaid has reviewed albums in The Daily Gleaner since 1981, and is a past judge for both the Junos and the East Coast Music Awards.

His column appears each Saturday.