Call this big bad instrumental album "desperado noir." It's organic and deliberate, epic and detailed, part spaghetti western, part road flick. Red Cities is multi-instrumentalist Chris Brokaw's debut disc, and true to the nature of a real solo outing, Chris plays everything. The mammoth sheets of guitar texture, powerful drumming, and other intricate elements heard here are all Brokaw. Kindred spirits and reference points for the sound include Calexico (sans South of the Border vibe), Pinetop Seven and Giant Sand (minus vocals), and even late-period Savage Republic. Chris Brokaw 's first distinguished foray into rock was in 1990 as the drummer for slow-core progenitors Codeine. After an LP and EP, Chris left to play exclusively in Boston band Come. He and co-founding singer/guitarist Thalia Zedek released four celebrated albums on the Matador label before disbanding in 2001. In the last six years Chris has contributed to a multitude of acts, including as: guitarist for the Steve Wynn band, led by ex-Dream Syndicate founder; drummer for The Willard Grant Conspiracy; one of four renowned guitarists in the band Pullman, also harboring Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise), Doug McCombs (Eleventh Dream Day, Brokeback), and Curtis Harvey (Rex); and drummer in The New Year, a post-Bedhead construction by the brothers Kadane. Presently he also plays in Consonant, the new band led by Mission of Burma's Clint Conley, and accompanies former Lemonhead Evan Dando in his musical ventures. It's obvious by that bio that Chris Brokaw stands in the center of a world of indie rock influence. It's therefore hardly a surprise to have him deliver in Red Cities one of the most impressive and pleasurable instrumental albums of the year.