A FOLK SET APART

Vinyl LP pressing includes digital download. Cass McCombs' new anthology, A Folk Set Apart, is subtitled "Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc." which is, on the surface, true but it's so much more than that. It's an alternate retelling of the last decade and a half of an enigmatic career built on immaculate songwriting but short on "breakthrough success." While it contains none of McCombs' better known songs from his seven full-lengths, he would have you believe this is his favorite album. The compilation starts off with the very first song to be released by McCombs, "I Cannot Lie" and, as is the case with many of McCombs gems, is told in the first person. Often, the temptation is to assume the autobiographical with McCombs and long-time fans surely have formed some mental picture of the elusive musician, but to do so would be to proceed at your own risk. McCombs knows his mythology is littered with misdirects, rumors and half truths and quite frankly none of our business.