I have spies everywhere. The entire Dark Intelligence Network (DIN) consists of family, friends and acquaintances stationed in towns all across the continent, from South Beach to the North Shore. Their mission-- which they have no choice but to accept-- is to scope the clubs and local scenes and feed me leads on new, promising bands which I then use for my own personal musical edification.

My Champaign, Illinois liaison, under the cover of being a grad student in music education, previously distinguished himself by tipping me to Brave Combo, the famous sons of his last post-Denton, Texas. He has just filed his report on local sensations, the Beauty Shop, which I hold here in my hand. As always, top-notch work. I'm considering awarding a field commendation. Breaking with procedure, I feel the need to share the findings with the Pitchfork readership. To quote excerpts from the report:

"The Beauty Shop share the stark-but-sophisticated acoustic balladry of the similar-minded Fellow Travelers, Freedy Johnston, the Jayhawks, and even the NPR-friendly Slaid Cleaves. (That's ballad as a form, not as a euphemism for a slower, subdued track, by the way.)

"On their debut full-length, Yr Money or Yr Life, the band restricts themselves to a diet of acoustic guitar, bass, and an economical drum kit. About the only indulgences of instrumentation are a single guest banjo appearance and a couple bars of melodica. This everyman arrangement allows the songwriting to stand denuded in the light of a bare bulb. Smart move, as it's the album's strongest asset.

"The trio have a decidedly country & midwestern angle going for them. There's no depression here; but there's plenty of despair. John Hoeffleur's corn pone baritone is the weary-souled narrator, mesmerizing listeners with dour tales of restlessness and spirits. Tenant ghosts in haunted houses; evicted ghosts ambulatory in the desert; corporeal people wandering from love to despair, lost and wandering to meet freezing death in the snow. It's unflinchingly bleak and wry, but most of all, it's served up without exception in the confident and commanding tones of an accomplished storyteller. When this song-as-narrative transcends, the Beauty Shop prove they can take the most basic of structures and infuse them with their dark, cynical voice of experience.

"'I Got Issues' is a caveat song that begins with 'Tame'-like rhythmic panting on top of a march beat. 'Just let me explain before I kiss you/ I'm never gonna change 'cause I got issues,' Hoeffleur warns, while confessing all his sins, shortcomings and self-loathing out of the other side of his mouth.

"The genteel cowpop of 'Caramel Apple' and 'Dutch Courage' are change-of-pace uptempo but never, ever optimistic. The only time the wandering ever feels aimless is during the yawner, "To Keep You." That song aside, the slower numbers are the truly hypnotic and captivating ones, with music and words both possessing poetic simplicity.

"Recommended course of action is to listen closely to this band's catalog. Catch their live shows if you get the opportunity, as the bosom-close feel of Yr Money or Yr Life can be recreated with ease in the tiniest corner stage of your favorite cramped, familiar bar. And keep an eye out nationally, for their leap from the small pond that is Urbana-Champaign must be imminent. Good luck, sir."

Good work, agent.

-John Dark