With this album, Cavalli surprised his cohort of long time fans who were more used to hear him play rockabilly and hillbilly bop. Cryland opens a new direction for the French musician, more bluesy and more his own. Though it's still music with roots, it finds him free to play whatever he wants without the restrictions a codified genre like Rockabilly can impose. His voice has turned into a threatening growl leaving behind him the overwhelming influence of Charlie Feathers. The result sometimes sounds like a jam between Skip James, Captain Beefheart, Leadbelly, Tony Joe White, RL Burnside and the Fat Possum gang. The drums smack like on early rap albums while Cavalli takes an obvious pleasure to play his Wah Wah.
By no means an album for purist but a very good one for the more open minded listeners.

.Fred "Virgil" Turgis